


Elite

by Smosh_Fanfics (KateBlack)



Category: Smosh
Genre: AU, Class System, F/M, Future AU, Geniuses, M/M, Poor, Smosh AU, Tests, dystopian au, futuristic AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-26
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-02-07 01:30:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 62,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12830466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KateBlack/pseuds/Smosh_Fanfics
Summary: In the nation of Escana, everything you are relates to your rank. Your job, your house, your food... everything. There's only one way to move up a rank; through the tests.Matthew Sohinki is a yellow, the second lowest sub-rank in the lowest rank, the colors. As a factory worker, his job is hard, and dangerous. He's never even seen the sun.When he turns eighteen and takes his Tests, he's far from confident. His brother barely passed, and he expects to follow the same path.But when he learns his score at the Announcement, he's shocked. Because Matthew didn't just pass...He became an Elite.





	1. Ration's Day

I've never seen the sun.

The giant star was covered by a screen of smoke, which stretched as far as the eye could see. The constant grey shield was created by the factories where we all worked, which was why the Yellow Districts were the farthest away from all the Jewel Districts; they didn't want to see the smoke.

We didn't get that luxury.

I stared at the sky as I waited. Sometimes, if you were lucky, you could see little cracks of sunlight peeking through the grey. It was considered an omen that your day would go well if you did. But I'd never been a lucky guy.

I was almost at Town Hall. Guards covered Town Square toting their large guns, and quartz bracelets. Ration's Day was the only day there were ever guards in Town Square; usually, they just stayed in the factories making sure we didn't try to break the machines, or whatever it was they were scared we would do. They didn't care if we robbed or killed each other on the streets.

Not today, though.

Ration's Day came once a month. It’s the day when the government gave us supplies. Clothes, painkillers, and most importantly, food. It wasn’t enough to survive on, nor did it keep us from starving, but it was sufficient enough to keep us working. It was enough to help us get through tough situations, which we were all always in.

The line moved forwards, and I finally entered Town Hall. It was a small, old building. The paint was peeling off the walls while the lights flickered, and the entire building smelled like mold. There was a running joke among us, which we whispered to each other while we worked, that Town Hall was older than Escana itself. That it was built long ago, in the Dark Ages.

There were guards inside too, making sure we didn't attempt to budge or steal from each other, though we'd be crazy to try to. They stuck out like sore thumbs, them in their white uniforms among our sea of yellow.

I absentmindedly rubbed my bracelet. Everyone had one, the colour of their rank, so everyone would know where they belonged. They were impossible to take off unless you cut off your hand. Rumour has it that when someone moves up a rank, the colour of their bracelet moves with them. Mine was yellow of course. I doubted that it would ever change.

The line moved slowly. I drummed my fingers on my leg, pulled at my baggy clothes, counted the cracks on the ceiling, anything to pass the time.

After what felt like hours, I finally got to the front of the line. The woman sitting at the desk had dark bags under her eyes, and kept yawning. She had a blue bracelet on her wrist, which wasn't surprising. Blues were waiters, retail workers, all the jobs that involved serving people that weren't glamorous. They got to travel the world, doing jobs for jewels. I wondered if they had Ration's Days, and if they did, who served it to them.

"Matthew Sohinki," I told the woman. I’ve done this enough times to know the drill. "Apartment 7-4:4729."

She started flipping through the pages of the check-in book. After a few minutes, she found my apartment. I held out my index finger, and she pricked it before pressing it down on the printed box next to my apartment number on the page. When she reached down to get our bag, I wiped the little blood left on my finger on my shirt.

"Long live the Queen," I told her as she handed me our bag. It was the formal way of saying goodbye.

"Long live the Queen," She replied before yawning.

I nodded and left.

I walked towards the North Exit. Town Hall was in the middle of Town Square, which was surrounded by buildings. Well, surrounded by buildings that  _used_  to be shops, or were built for the intention of having shops inside them, but besides for the grocery store and pharmacy, they were all deserted. The two shops we did have were government-owned, as no businessman would be stupid enough to open a store here. We had no money to buy anything else but food. It was surprising that we even had the pharmacy, as most people would just deal with the pain instead of buying pricey medicine to help them.

I passed the train station on my way to the exit. It was always closed, except on tests day, when it would transport eighteen-year-olds to the Testing Building and take them back after. The sight made the familiar anxiety I had been feeling for most of the year bubble up inside of me, as it always did every time I thought of the Tests. For I was eighteen, and I myself would have to take them in less than a week.

I quickly shook the thought from my head and tried to distract myself by hitting our rations bag against my leg.

There were roads paved all over our district between every apartment block, and between Town Square and the shops, though they were barely used. The only vehicles that ever moved through the entire District were the four buses, one for each exit out of Town Square, which would take workers to their jobs and back again. We all only ever take two trips the entire day; one there, and one back. If you missed it, you'd have to walk, and more likely than not, miss a paycheck.

The apartment numbers kept going up the further you get from Town Square, and the buildings get larger. There are 13 apartment blocks in total, each one split into four sub-blocks; Southeast, Southwest, Northeast, and Northwest, though they were more commonly called 1, 2, 3, and 4 instead. Your apartment combination is your apartment block, then your sub-block, followed by your apartment's number. We were in 7-4:4729, right in the middle of all the blocks on the tenth story. All the apartments were ten stories tall, and, on average, had 500 apartments on each floor. Somehow, we managed to cram all one million residents of Yellow District 4 into these apartments.

It was a long walk to our apartment block, and I was exhausted by the time I got there. Unfortunately, I still had the stairs to climb. I heard that in the Jewel Districts, they had these things called "elevators," where you could just stand still as a machine lifted you up to whatever floor you wanted to go to. If these contraptions really existed, I'd probably never see one.

Once I finally got to our apartment, I couldn't wait to sit down. I fished around in my pocket for my keys, and after far more attempts than I'd like to admit, I managed to insert it into the keyhole and open our front door.

"Oh, Matthew, thank goodness you're here!" My mother said the second I walked in the door, relief clear in her voice. "Where are the painkillers?"

I instantly knew what was happening. My father suffered from migraines, headaches so painful they left him in bed for hours in constant pain. They ranged from mild to severe, and usually, he didn't have access to any painkillers to help him. Ration's Day was more important to him than anyone else in my family.

"Here," I fished around in the bag for a few seconds before I found the small bottle and handed it to her.

She nodded and walked over to my dad. Noises made his migraines worse, so I tried to stay as quiet as possible as I crept over to our cupboard.

Our apartment only had one room, like every apartment in every Yellow District. We had a simple layout; one thin foam bed that had taken forever to save up enough money to buy, which my dad was lying on. Three cardboard beds, complete with thin blankets, and pillows made of old clothes and plastic bags. We had a firepit which we used for heat and to cook food, if we could afford wood and matches, a small cupboard that every apartment had, and a radio that also came with the apartment, and flares to life whenever there was an announcement from the Palace, which there almost never was.

I pulled out the cans of food from our ration's bag and started placing them in the cupboard. It was the usual; beans, chicken soup, those sorts of things. The only other things we had in the cupboard was a small amount of cutlery and dishes.

Besides my parents and I, the only other person in my family was my older brother, Jon. He was two years older than me, and had already taken his tests. He had gotten an 80% on physical and a 50% on mental, barely passing. After you take your tests, you can stay with your family for five more years before you have to move out. Within that time, you're supposed to find someone to marry, as it is legally required for us to have two children to replace us when we die. No more, no less. It's designed to try and keep our population under control. However, some people can get away with three children if their sibling died before having any, under the argument that the child will replace the dead person.

Though, I don't know why anyone would have a third child. It was hard enough to feed two.

Jon was probably off getting water. We had to get our water from the well, which is located in Town Square. It would be a while before he gets back.

I was tired, so I crawled over to my little bed. It was uncomfortable, but after eighteen years of sleeping on cardboard, you get used to it. I closed my eyes, and quickly dozed off.

• • •

When I was younger, my dad used to tell stories.

He loved to tell us about when he took the tests. How he'd been in a train, and seen the wonders of technology that the jewels enjoyed every day. Holograms that you could touch, machines that would bring you food with the press of a button. It had sounded unreal to me back then, like the fairy tales they read to us in school. I remember dreaming about it, the Tests, because I wanted to see these mystical things my dad talked about.

But that was a long time ago. Now, my father only ever talked about how hard the tests are, and how failing would affect me. And instead of dreaming about the Tests, I had nightmares.

The Tests meant something different to each Rank. In the Yellow Districts, they were important because they made you desirable. There were certain factories that paid their workers more, and only took in people who had scored highly. The worse your mark was, the worse your paycheck would be. The factories that hired people who had gotten close to failing; well, I saw their workers, people whose skin clung to their bones, with dead eyes. We all had pale skin due to the lack of daylight here, but they looked like monsters.

I did  _not_  want to end up like those people. And so The Tests terrified me. They terrified everyone.

They were split up into two parts, which you performed on two separate days; physical and mental. Physical tested your fitness, and mental tested your intelligence. It was illegal to talk about what the Tests contained, but everyone said they were hard. It was impossible to get 100% on them.

Well, almost impossible.

It's happened before. If you get 100% on either test, you move up a rank. That was rare, but I'd seen it happen several times. It was always through the physical test, as we tended to have good fitness due to our work in the factories.

What was even rarer were the Elites.

I'd never seen anyone become an Elite in my lifetime. Rumour has it that there's only been one from all the Yellow Districts combined, some girl who lived over a hundred years ago. I doubted that was true, simply because of how impossible it seemed. The only way to become an Elite was to get 100% on both your tests. I couldn't even imagine how anyone could score that high.

I looked at my mother, who was fast asleep next to my father. Then I looked at Jon, who was tending to the fire that we were trying to use to cook soup. Jon had done poorly, and had gotten a hard job. His life was going to be difficult.

All I wanted was to pass. I hoped I'd get a better score than my parents had, though I doubt I would.

I looked out our window at the setting sun. One day over, one day closer to my Tests.

There were only two days left.

 


	2. The Train

Back when I was ten, before I started working and school was every day, they'd taught us about the Dark Ages.

Before Escana was created, the world had been split up into smaller nations called "countries." These countries had their own governments, their own societies. Some even had systems called "democracies," where people could choose their leaders.

But the people couldn’t be trusted. Back then, everyone hated each other. They had people called racists, sexists, homophobes, transphobes, and xenophobes. People who hated minorities, small groups of people for their sex, gender, who they loved, the colour of their skin, and even for what country their family came from.

And when those people who hate minorities decide who rules them, they choose rulers who hate them too.

Therefore, this system was broken. It was made most apparent by the constant wars, suffering, and hate. The Dark Ages were terrible times. What made them even worse was the Great War, which ravished the lands and killed billions of people.

But, like a phoenix, Escana rose out of the ashes of this broken world. The Sui's, along with other powerful families like the Grossman's, came together and made Escana. They brought the entire world together, and made people from other countries stop seeing each other as separate, but as a whole family. They organized them into the ranks, to make sure everyone had an active, equal role in society and everyone was cared for. They saved the world. Queen Olivia Sui the first, granddaughter of the first Sui's to start working on Escana, was crowned queen.

I remembered little ten-year-old me raising his hand, "If everyone is cared for, then why are we starving?"

I had gotten ten hits on the knuckles for that, and a long lecture about respect and gratitude.

I didn't know why I was thinking of this now, as I stared at the dark ceiling of our apartment. Our fire had long since burned out, leaving us in darkness.  _One day._

I still couldn't believe it. Only one day until my Tests. One day until my entire future would be decided.

I closed my eyes, but I knew I wouldn't sleep for a long time.

• • •

There had never been a time in my life that I was sad about missing work.

Those days, days where you weren’t required to work, were scarce; Rations Day, and an hour every Sunday for school. Usually, I looked forward to these days with joy, relieved that I would get a break from the endless torture that was working at the factory, making technology that I would never get to use. But not today.

Because today, I left for the Tests.

The Tests were optional, and only counted as a work-free day for eighteen-year-olds. My parents and Jon had already wished me good luck and left, leaving me alone in our apartment.

The train would be leaving at 12 pm sharp, leaving me two hours to get there. I sat on my bed clutching a glass of water.

 _Well, five-year-old me,_  I thought to myself.  _Here we are, on the day you dreamed of. Are you excited?_

I drank my water. We were almost out. One of us would have to go back to the well later today. I wondered what was going through my family's mind when they said goodbye to me, and what they'd be thinking while I was gone. Probably worry, and fear.

I sat there for a while, imagining all the horrible things that could happen to me if I failed. Eventually, mainly because I was worried about missing the train, I brought myself to my feet and walked to the Train Station.

It took me an hour to get there. When I did, the first thing I noticed were the guards. There were several of them around the Train Station, but the most noticeable one was the woman holding a clipboard near the entrance.

I walked over to her, trying my best to ignore the giant weapons, and multiple pairs of eyes of the guards on me.

"Name?" She asked me. I could practically hear the boredom in her voice. I doubted this was what most Quartzs imagined as they went through training, but from what I'd seen, it was what they mainly did.

"Matthew Sohinki," I replied. "Apartment 7-4:4729."

She flipped through the pages on the clipboard before she found my name. She asked me a few simple questions like what my mother's name was, and what I had been making in my factory last week. When she decided she was satisfied with my answers, she let me enter the Train Station.

It was underground. The walls were made of wood, and the stairs of cracked stone. I felt unsafe as if the walls would cave in around me at any moment.

After walking down the stairs for what felt like forever, I came upon a long hallway. Only half of it was paved, the other half had rails that extended past the hallway and into dark tunnels. I assumed that was where the train would go through.

There were already a few other kids here, though I didn't know any of them. In fact, I don’t really know any of the other kids my age in our district. I only knew Pamela, the girl who worked next to me on the assembly line, though we weren't close. There were also a few guards

A few seats were pushed up against the walls. I sat on one of them, and started playing with my fingers. A clock hung from the ceiling, displaying what I assumed was how much time it would take for the train to arrive, in dim numbers. It displayed the number thirty.

Slowly, other people started to arrive, about one every two or three minutes. Soon, the room was alive with voices. By the time the clock read ten, every seat in the hallway was taken.

There weren't that many of us, only 106. It was a record, the lowest number of births occurred during 2845, the year we were all born. No one really knew why.

By the time the clock read two, I was a ball of nerves. Strangely, I felt kind of excited.

You could hear the train before you could see it.

It was loud, the screeching of wheels on rails. I stood up, as did most of the other people. We were all craning our heads, trying to get a look at the train.

Soon, we could see it.

It was massive. When it stopped in front of us, I couldn't even see the end of it. It was made of metal, painted yellow. The compartment in front of me was bigger than my apartment, and there looked like there were multiple of them. I was awe-struck.

The doors opened on their own, sliding into the train like magic. Everyone started rushing in, pushing each other due to their excitement, so much so that it made me wonder why the guards weren't interfering. I waited until my peers were all in before getting in myself. The guards followed me in. I heard the doors shut behind me.

The inside was beautiful. The walls were white, and there was a red carpet on the floor. There were rows of seats, which were made of some sort of fabric I'd never seen before. When I sat down on one of the ones near the back, the first thing I noticed was how comfortable they were.

Windows hung above every seat, though all you could see was the stone of the tunnel. No one sat next to me as there were plenty of seats for everyone. That was a relief.

A loud whistle blew, and the train lurched forward. It was fast, faster than the bus back home, and it was exhilarating to watch the stone walls of the tunnels blur in my vision as we moved. I wondered why they used a train of this elegance for us; they could've easily just used a small one, and packed us in like sardines.

Then I remembered. In the grocery store, back home, everyone had been shocked when a rack had shown up one day, covered with perfumes and makeup, with a cardboard cutout of Princess Olivia Sui the fifth next to it. Most people had just assumed it was a shipping error, but I knew the real reason. They flaunted these objects in front of us, these meaningless objects that cost more than food for a week and yet we all still wanted, to remind us of our inferiority to them. To show us that they got vanity items, that they have fancy things, that they deserved them, and we didn't. I wondered if they were doing the same thing now, flaunting their wealth in our faces with this fancy train to deliver the same message.

Suddenly, my sense of wonder was gone.

It would be a long ride. All Yellow Districts had their Tests on the same day, and so we all went to the same place, right in the middle of all the districts. I'd seen it on a map in school, which they had posted on the wall. We were rarely taught geography. The only thing I knew was that all the Yellow Districts were in a place that used to be called Antarctica, which had been a frozen wasteland in the Dark Ages and had been thawed to make room for us. All these years, we’ve kept it warm with our factories. I remembered asking why they'd spent money thawing a large landscape when they could've just put us somewhere else.

I'd gotten hit ten times on the knuckles (a punishment I had a habit of receiving) for that one and had been told I was being disrespectful, though to this day I don't know why.

By the time the train stopped at our destination, I had almost fallen asleep. We exited the train much more calmly than when we got on.

The Train Station we'd stopped at was a lot nicer than our own. It was painted white and was bright. There was a sign hanging from the ceiling, which had nothing on it but the number four, which I assumed was our district's number. There were a lot more guards here than there were back at home.

They made us get into a single-file line, and marched us up the stairs. They led us to a large room, which was covered in chairs all facing a raised platform. The guard we had been following gestured towards a row, and we all sat down.

We waited for a long time. All Yellow Districts had the Tests on the same day, and we had to wait for all the eighteen-year-olds to arrive. There were speakers on the walls, which were playing music.

When I was younger, my family used to have music nights where my parents would sing while John and I would lay down rhythms that usually didn't go with whatever my parents were singing. The only songs we knew were "factory songs" which we sang while we were working.

But the music coming from these speakers were different. It was only one voice, backed with rhythms and melodies, which I assumed were created by either computers or instruments. I listened with wonder.

Eventually, after an hour or two, a man appeared on the stage. He was a tall man, with brown hair and a short beard. Not many men had beards back home, as they could get caught in machines. He had a diamond bracelet around his wrist.

He was carrying some sort of cylinder with a circle at the top, and when he spoke, his voice came out of the speakers.

"Hello, eighteen-year-olds!" He greeted us. "I'm Joe Bereta, the Lord appointed by the Queen to run your Tests. Now, I'm sure you're all wondering about what will happen in the next three days. Well, tonight, you'll be directed to your rooms. Tomorrow, you will be called down one by one to take your physical test, and you will take your mental test on the next day. You will go home after breakfast on the third day. Now, if your first name starts with A-F, please exit through the door to my right."

Kids started standing up to leave as I sucked in that information. So we would have another night to rest before we took our Tests. I was relieved, as the ride here had made me weary and sleepy.

After a few minutes, the letters M-S were called, and I exited the room. The door led us to another large room, where guards led us down a few hallways into a long corridor, full of doors. They lined the walls, and stairs did too, leading to higher floors.

One of the guards told us to find ourselves a room, and we ran towards the doors, trying to get one on the bottom floor. I walked up the stairs, and picked one of the several doors there. The door I picked had the number 120 painted on it. I walked inside.

It was the fanciest room I'd ever been in. It was lit by a giant silver chandelier, which had fake, electric candles. There was a desk made of wood, and a giant white bed with a canopy. But the most impressive thing was the hologram box.

They were what I made back home, but I'd never seen one that was on before. The one sitting on the desk was displaying blue cubes that were swirling around each other in a beautiful display of technology.

I wanted to reach out and touch it, but I was yawning every five seconds and felt very tired. I made one of the most challenging decisions in my life and left the box alone. Instead, I crawled into the bed, which felt so comfortable I fell asleep almost instantly.


	3. Physical

I awoke to a beeping sound.

I sat up groggily, and rubbed my eyes. It was far too bright in here, the lights far more powerful than my apartments were. A woman's figure appeared out of the hologram box.

"It is recommended that you eat breakfast at this time for you to have the best energy for your physical test," The woman said. I stared at the image for awhile, shocked at how  _real_  it looked, like there was a miniature woman standing on the desk. I had always assumed that all the images the boxes displayed were blue.

I reluctantly got out of bed, and noticed that there was a plate of food sitting on the desk that I swore hadn't been there seconds before. I walked over too it.

It was bacon and eggs. I'd never actually had eggs or bacon, but I remembered there being a picture of it in one of the books in school, when they were teaching us to read. It was sitting on top of a square that looked like it had been cut into the wood, which was where I assumed it had come from. There were a fork and knife sitting next to it.

I pulled up a chair and started to eat. It was strange; I felt like I was doing something wrong, like this wasn't for me and I had stolen it. I was almost relieved when I was done. I put the plate back on the square, and the square receded into the desk and came back up again, empty. I noticed a panel of buttons on the side of the desk, though I didn't press any of them, as I was scared about what they might do.

I sat down on the bed. I was a ball of nerves. I wished that I could just do my Tests now, get them over with, instead of having to wait. To distract myself, I turned to the hologram box.

It was displaying some sort of homepage. There were little boxes with pictures in them, and titles underneath. Music had a man holding the same object the Lord yesterday had used to make his voice come out of the speakers. Games had what looked like a matching game. Entertainment had a woman and man with swords fighting.

I pressed on the game's box, and it brought me to another page, listing multiple games. I tapped on the first one.

"Welcome to Bubble Pop!" A male voice announced. "Are you a new player?"

I took me a couple of seconds to realize it wanted me to respond verbally. "Yes."

The pixels rearranged themselves to show me how to play with pictures. Once I figured out the basics, I started playing.

It was a simple game, but it was exhilarating. It could track my hands, and I didn't even have to touch the screen to move the balloons. It was a matching game, where you had to match three balloons of the same color to pop them.

I played the game for awhile, before moving on to the next one. I realized why Dad had loved telling John and I stories about his experience here so much; this was wonderful.

After I had been playing games for around three hours, I practically jumped in the air when the woman appeared suddenly.

"It is time for your physical test," The woman informed me. "Please get changed and exit your room. A guard will escort you."

I was confused for a couple of seconds, and then I noticed a pile of white clothes on the desk. I put it on. It was made of some smooth fabric, and hugged my body in a way that made it very easy for me to move.

I walked over to the door and put my hand on the handle, taking a deep breath. This was it. Trying to calm my nerves, I opened the door.

A guard was waiting for me. Wordlessly, he started walking down the stairs, and I followed him. He lead me past the large room where the Lord had spoken to us, through a few hallways, and into what looked like a waiting room that was so white it was hard to look at. There were a few other people, none of whom I recognized. I sat down in one of the plush chairs.

There were four of us, and we all waited in silence. One by one, they called us in, after about twenty-minute intervals. New people came in regularly too.

Eventually, I was the last person left out of the four who had been here originally. I sat quietly, counting the seconds, trying to calm myself.

"Matthew Sohinki," A Guard said after what felt like far less than twenty minutes.

I took a deep breath and stood up, following her through the door on the other side of the room as the one I'd entered from.

She led me to a small room, which was empty besides a cabinet. She opened it and pulled out what looked like a bracelet.

"Wrist," She held out her hand.

I raised my arm, and she snapped the bracelet around it.

"What is that for?" I asked.

"To track your heartbeat and the like," She replied. "To see how fit you really are."

She opened a door to my right, and held it open for me. "Cross the red line when you hear a whistle. People will be watching, so don't try to cheat."

I walked through the door, and she shut it behind me. Inside was an obstacle course. It looked long, with some of it built above ground. The room was well lit, mainly because the ceiling was made of glass, making everything easy to see. The beginning was obvious; a long cement walkway leading to a climbing wall. Right at my feet was a finely painted red line.

I got into a running position. School had been preparing us for our physical test for the past year, as it was the only test of the two you could really study for. I hoped the lessons they had taught us would help me. I looked up, and was shocked to see a ray of sunlight peeking through the clouds right above me.

A whistle was blown, and I was off.

I ran as fast as I could, and jumped onto the climbing wall. It was tall, and the handholds were rectangular, hard to grasp, and far away from each other. Still, I managed to haul myself up to the top.

What lay before me was a complex series of wooden beams that were rotating around each other and moving across the ground. I realized quite quickly that I was supposed to dodge them.

I'd be lying if I said I expected any obstacles like this. It was incredibly difficult to dodge around the beams, to stay constantly aware of all of them at all times. Still, I managed to get out without any of them touching me.

The next obstacle was a long sandpit at the bottom of the raised platform I was standing on. I saw measurements painted on the concrete next to it, and realized I was supposed to jump.

I took a running start and flung myself into the air, landing almost at the edge of the sandpit. I quickly steadied myself and ran to the next obstacle, not looking back to see how far I jumped.

I recognized the next obstacle from my school's playground; monkey bars. I smiled; I've always been great at these, ever since I was a young boy.

I flew across them with ease, and ran to the next obstacle. It was a rope, suspended a meter or so off the ground between two wooden blocks. The confidence I had gained from my success on the monkey bars quickly dissipated.

I jumped up to the first block supporting it. I took a deep breath and put my foot on the rope, before putting my next foot in front of it. It was a lot easier than it looked, thankfully, and I made my way across without falling.

The next obstacle looked like the climbing wall, except there were two facing each other and the handholds were much further apart. I figured it out quickly; I was supposed to jump from wall to wall.

I took a running start and launched myself into the air, grabbing onto the first handhold. I climbed on top of it and jumped to the next. Once I got into the rhythm of it, it was quite easy.

The next obstacle took me a few seconds to figure out. There was a bar at the bottom of two long wooden beams, sitting on top of two little blocks attached to the beams. These little blocks climbed all the way to the top of the beams, in five sets of two. I realized I was supposed to move the bar up myself.

I jumped up and grabbed onto the bar. I brought my knees to my chest and, using all my strength, extended upwards, pushing the bar upwards and onto the next support. I repeated the process, which was exhausting.

Once I reached the top, I was instantly confused. There was a wood pole lying on the ground, but that was it. There was a wooden wall blocking my path forwards.

I went to pick up the pole, and another wooden wall lifted out of the ground behind me, blocking my exit. I picked up the pole, though I was very confused.

Then a ball flew past my head, almost hitting me.

I jumped backward, as more balls start ejecting from the walls and flying at me. I raised the pole to protect myself, and realized with horror that I was supposed to deflect my round attackers with it.

I backed up into the wall and started spinning the pole. It was insanely difficult, to pay attention to all of the balls coming at me. I could see the machines spitting them at me on the walls, and they were all facing me. Somehow, when they stopped and the wooden wall blocking my path dropped, I hadn't been hit by a single ball.

I could see the finish line, and all that lay between us was a long stretch of pavement. I took off sprinting, and passed the finish line quickly.

"Two minutes and thirty-five seconds," A voice boomed around me. "Please exit through the door to your right."

I spotted the door and did as the voice told me. Strangely, though I was out of breath, I didn't feel like I was going to collapse.

A guard was waiting for me in another small room. I held out my wrist, and he removed my bracelet. I followed him back to my room.

I flopped down on my bed and stared at the ceiling. I'd done it; I'd completed half of my Tests. I'd been dreading this for so long I could barely believe it.

 _Don't get too cocky, Matthew,_  I reminded myself. _You still have to take your mental tests, and, if your father can be believed, it will be much harder than the one you just took._

I suddenly felt very exhausted. I walked over to the desk and pressed one of the buttons on the side. A weird combination of bread, meat, and vegetables came up from the inside of the desk.

I remembered one of the things my Dad had told me all those years ago;  _food at the press of a button._  It seemed like he hadn't been lying.

I had never really thought about how the Jewels lived before. It wasn't important to me; why wonder about something you'll never have or experience? But this, this made my blood boil. That they got food at the press of a button while those who made and farmed the food for them starved.

I quickly shook the thought from my head. Thinking that was treason. Like my old teacher always told me, we should always be grateful for what we have, all those times I asked those questions that questioned Escana or it's Jewels.

I never listened to her.


	4. Mental

I awoke to the woman's hologram again, and threw my pillow at it.

After eating breakfast, I climbed back into bed. I didn't feel like playing any games. I was too nervous, too anxious. All I wanted to do was curl up into a ball and stay like that forever.

Eventually, I dozed off, and was awoken again by the woman, telling me to get dressed. I did as she told, and, just like yesterday, a guard was waiting outside my room.

I followed him in the opposite direction we went yesterday, through unfamiliar parts of the building. He took me to another waiting room, this one completely black, with windows. There was only one other person in here. I sat down as far away from them as I could get and looked out the window. Social interaction was the last thing I wanted right now.

They left soon after, and I was left alone. I assumed they had other test rooms, as the boy was taking a long time and I assumed everyone else was, too.

I saw another ray of sunshine peeking through the smoke. I burrowed my eyes. I'd never even seen that before, and here I was, seeing it twice in two days? I was never one for superstition, but the sight made me smile. Maybe it was a sign of good luck. I sure hoped so.

A guard stepped into the room. "Matthew Sohinki."

I walked through the door he was holding open, and he shut it behind me. There were no wristbands this time. Just the test.

I was left in darkness for a few seconds, before a screen flared to life in on the wall in front of me. There was another couple of screens embedded in a table right before me, and it looked like the table was designed that way.

The screen showed twenty different symbols, all yellow. They looked like buttons. The same design was displayed on the screens in front of me. After a few seconds of examining it, one of the symbols, a square, blinked.

I was confused for a second, before I realized I was supposed to copy it onto my own screen. I pressed the yellow square on the screen in front of me, and the square on the big screen blinked again, with the triangle blinking right after it.

 _You have to be kidding me,_  I thought to myself.  _A memory game?_

I tapped my square and triangle, and the big screen added a yellow star onto the end this time. The process kept repeating, to the point where the chain was over thirty symbols long. Then the screens rearranged themselves. This time, instead of different symbols, they displayed twenty squares, all different colors. Then it started over from scratch.

It was almost painfully easy. When my father said the mental tests were hard, I was expecting insanely difficult math questions, not childish memory games.

After the chain became twenty rectangles long again, the screen went blank. Words appeared on the screen:

_There are three switches downstairs. Each corresponds to one of the three light bulbs in the attic. You can turn the switches on and off and leave them in any position.  
How would you identify which switch corresponds to which light bulb, if you are only allowed one trip upstairs?_

I sighed. First memory games, now this?

"Flip the first switch, then wait ten minutes, flip the second switch, wait another ten minutes, and flip the last switch," I explained within seconds of the question appearing. "When you go upstairs, feel the lightbulbs. The warmest will be the first switch, as it was turned on first, and the coldest the last switch."

The screen went blank again, before another riddle appeared.

_How can you throw a ball as hard as you can and have it come back to you, even if it doesn't bounce off anything? There is nothing attached to it, and no one else catches or throws it back to you._

"Throw it up."

_You walk up to a mountain that has two paths. One leads to the other side of the mountain, and the other will get you lost forever. Two twins know the path that leads to the other side. You can ask them only one question. One lies and one tells the truth, and you don't know which is which. What do you ask?_

"What would your brother say. They will both give you the same answer and you will take the opposite path of which they told you to go."

This kept going on for awhile, each one seemingly more easy than the last. I was relaxed now.

Eventually, the screen went dark again, and didn't show another riddle. Instead, it showed a chess board.

They had taught us how to play chess in school. I remembered all the rules, but barely. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it.

"Do you know how to play?" A voice asked.

"Yes," I replied.

The board filled itself with pieces. I was white, so I went first.

I knew I was playing a computer, as this was far more difficult an opponent than Pamela or any of my classmates had ever been. Yet I still found it... kind of easy. I won in less than ten minutes.

The screen went black.

"The people of Escana are all different," A feminine voice said. "We are all connected, like the bones in a body, but we all have different functions. Working together, we move the body. Alone, we are nothing."

Words appeared on the screen; _what was the message Queen Olivia the third was trying to convey in that expert of one of her most famous speeches?_

"That we all have a role in Escana, and while all our roles are different, they are all vital to the running of our nation?" I replied. This was a bit more difficult.

I listened to a few more speeches, and answered questions about them. I realized what they were testing; my ability to process and understand what other people were saying.

After five more speeches, the screen went black and the speakers silent. Then the screen displayed a picture of a woman clutching a child as fire raged around them and the building they were in fell apart around them. There was a caption;  _What is happening here?_

"A mother is trying to protect her child from a burning building," I said.

The picture changed, and I made another guess. This went on for awhile, before the screen went black.

Then it showed a grid filled in with a few numbers. Above it was the title  _Sudoku._

After I learned the rules, I completed the puzzle easily. The screen went black again.

The screen showed a pattern of squares, but the last one was replaced with a question mark. I looked down at my screen and noticed that it displayed a number of options. I was supposed to complete the pattern, I realized.

I completed puzzle after puzzle, each one getting harder as I went along. Then, after I completed the last puzzle, the screen didn't show me another one and instead simply displayed one sentence:  _You're done._

A guard opened the door, and I walked out. She led me back to my apartment.

I sat down on my bed. That was a lot... easier than I had expected. I felt bad for thinking that, but it was true. I had found the physical test a lot harder.

Still, I was relieved it was over. I even had a good feeling about it. I assumed my average would be around 75%, if I was lucky. That was a wonderful thought.

• • •

We all climbed onto the train. I was a little sad to leave, as I would never live in this type of luxury again. But I missed my family, and the entire Tests Building just had an aura to it that I didn't like. Overall, I wasn't too sad to see it go. I was never meant to live that life anyways.

It was a long ride back. I spent the entire time staring out the window, thinking. I was relieved that the Tests were over, but I was dreading the Announcement, where a Blue would read our scores to the entire District. But after that, it would be over, and life would go back to normal, give or take. I couldn't wait until then.

Work wasn't over when we arrived in our District. I walked home, taking in the surroundings as I did. I couldn't help myself from comparing our dumpy buildings to the architecture of the Training Building. I doubted I'd ever stop. My Father never did.

I laid down on my bed, though I wasn't tired. The cardboard felt like concrete compared to the bed at the Training Building.

My family arrived home a few hours later. I had tried falling asleep, but I couldn't.

They had questioned me for a while, asking me how it went, how I felt I did, things like that. I answered them as honestly as I could. They all smiled when I said that I felt like I did well, though I could tell they didn't believe me. I didn't expect them too.

We ate beans for dinner, which tasted flavorless compared to the food I'd enjoyed at the Testing Building. Then we all climbed into bed, just like we did every night. 

I barely got any sleep.

• • •

A man died today.

It wasn't rare. He'd made one small error while using the cutter and cut his hand off. Bled to death right in front of us. I had watched out the corner of my eye as two guards hauled his body out. It was expected of us to not stop working, and we didn't.

The sight made me hope even harder for a high score. 100% on physical meant becoming a Quartz. 100% on mental meant becoming an Elite's helper. 100% on both meant becoming an Elite.

After my experience in the Training Building, that taste of another life, coupled with seeing this man's death... it made me want to get out of here. With the barren landscape of Antartica being unstable for human life, making it impossible to run away, the Tests were my only way out.

All I could do at this point was hope.

After work, I rode home on the bus, just like everyone did. There were no seats in here, and no windows. There wasn't even anything to hold onto, and people were crammed in here with so little room between us you could barely move. Every small bump on the road made us all slam into each other, as it was impossible to brace yourself in here.

Like always, it was a long walk home from Town Square. I would have to be back there soon, anyway, as the Announcement was today.

The Announcement was pretty simple. All us eighteen-year-olds would be ushered into Town Hall while our families would wait outside. It was the only day that Town Hall used it's speakers, as that was how everyone listened to the Blue that would read our scores out.

That was the worst part; everyone heard about your failures, and your success, when most of us wished it was private. But that was how it was, and none of us could stop it.

• • •

My family walked to Town Hall in silence.

I knew we were all worried. If I failed, my life would be ruined. We all were desperately hoping that wouldn't happen.

Eventually, we arrived. There were already people there, and Town Square was alive with sound. My Mom and John both gave me a hug, as did my Dad.

"Let's hope you did better than your brother," He joked, patting me on the back.

I smiled, though I didn't find it very funny, and waved goodbye to them. I entered Town Hall. The floor was littered with chairs, and I took an empty one in the corner.

 _This is it, Matthew,_  I thought to myself.  _Your entire future will be announced tonight. Are you ready?_

No, I'm not.


	5. Last Time

Once the last few people arrived, a guard locked the entrance. I took this to mean that the Announcement was starting.

I recognized the Blue who walked out and stood in front of us, a clipboard in one hand and the same object the Lord had used in the other. She was the same woman who had given us our last rations, which felt like forever ago, though it was only a few days ago. I tensed up. It was starting.

"Dan Anson," She announced. It was deathly quiet in here, and I could hear her voice coming out of the speakers outside. "Physical: 76%. Mental: 63%. Average: 69%."

That score was similar to my brother's average of 65%. Your average was what really mattered, as the factory runners usually looked at it more than your individual scores.

She kept going on, listing people's names and their scores. We were all tense, waiting for our scores to be called. I was near the end of list, unfortunately, as they were announced in order of last name.

"Pamela Horton," The woman announced. "Physical: 96%. Mental: 87%. Average: 91%."

I could see her smile across the room as people congratulated her. I was proud of her, even though we weren't very close. That was probably going to be the highest score out of all of us.

I was gripping my armrest so hard my knuckles were turning white. She had reached the S'. My score would be announced soon.

"Matthew Sohinki," She announced. "Physical-"

She gasped, and her eyes widened. Everyone's eyes turned to me. I was frozen, and I started hyperventilating, as my mind went crazy. Had I failed? 

"Physical," The woman tried to regain her composure. "Physical: 100%. Mental: 100%. Average: 100%."

She said it very quickly, which made me wonder if I'd heard her wrong. I must've. A 100% average? That's impossible.

I was suddenly very aware of everyone's eyes on me. I tried to calm myself down. I'd never had a panic attack before, but I felt like I was on the verge of one. I could hear people whispering around me, and voices from Town Square as well.

There hadn't been an Elite in any of the Yellow Districts for over a hundred years. Yet here I sat, breaking that record. Impossible. There has to have been a mistake.

I wanted to go home. I wanted to run back to my apartment and lock myself in. I'd spent a lot of time dreaming about getting a 100% on either Tests, so I could move up a District, especially in the last 24 hours. But now that it had happened, all I could think about was how uncomfortable I'd felt using the technology and eating the food of the Jewels. How much I loved my family. I didn't want to leave, I realized. But I didn't have a choice.

The woman had moved on, and was reading other people's scores. I wasn't listening too her. I was too busy being stuck in my own brain.

Luckily, there weren't many people left. She finished quickly, and we all stood up to leave. I felt like I was in a trance, or a dream. This couldn't be happening.

My family was waiting for me. My mother hugged me immediately, as my brother and father looked at me with shock. I didn't blame them. I hadn't processed what just happened yet either.

"Well, you definitely did better than me," John said, trying to lighten the mood. But there was nothing to be done. We all knew what this meant; I would be taken away from them, to go wherever they take Elites. This was one of the last times I'd ever see them.

My mother released me and grabbed my shoulders. She tried to smile, but I could tell she was faking it. "I'm proud of you, Matthew."

"Thanks, Mom," I replied. I didn't feel proud of myself. 

She patted my cheek as the speakers came alive. "Will Matthew Sohinki please enter Town Hall with his parents or guardians."

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down, and did what I was told too. We entered Town Hall, leaving John outside to wait for us.

A guard was waiting for us. "Are you Matthew Sohinki?"  
  
"Yes," I told her.

"Congratulations on your Tests," She told me. "You are free to go home. Someone will be here tomorrow to collect you, and everyone from your family will be given a work-free day."

"And take him where?" My father asked.

"I don't know," The Guard replied. "The person who will be here tomorrow will be able to answer all your questions."

She nodded at us and walked away. We excited Town Hall, got John, and started our walk back. I still couldn't believe it.

Me. An  _Elite_. The thought didn't seem right. I just couldn't imagine myself as one, not that I even knew what they looked like, or what they did for that matter. Elites were clouded with mystery.

At least with the Tests, I knew what was going to happen to me. But now... now I had no idea. Whatever lay before me, I knew nothing about. And that made it even scarier.

We walked in silence. When we arrived home, I instantly sat down on my bed, as my Dad started to make dinner. None of us were speaking, as none of us knew what to say. None of us had been expecting this.

• • •

I hadn't slept last night.

I had been staring out the window, thinking, as I listened to my family's snores. I wondered if I would see the sun, and the moon, wherever they would take me.

My family was all awake when we heard the knock. My mother opened the door, revealing an attractive woman flanked by two guards. She had a diamond bracelet. My eyes widened when I saw it. Diamond was the top rank, containing only the royal family and the lords.

"Hello," The woman said. "I'm Sarah Whittle. Does Matthew Sohinki live here?"

"Yes," I stood up. "I'm him."

"May I come in?" She asked.

We all knew it wasn't a request, but an order. My mother made a welcoming gesture, and she walked in, along with her guards. She sat down across from me, on the other side of the firepit. My family sat down around us.

"So, Matthew, I'm sure you're wondering about what will happen to you," She smiled.

"I am," I replied.

"Well, first, we'll be taking the train to the Training Center," she explained. "Then we'll be taking a plane to the Elite Training Facility, which is located in the Diamond District, where you'll train to become an Elite. How you will train will be explained there. Any questions?"

"Will I ever be able to come back here?" I asked hopefully.

"No," She replied. "You're too valuable to Escana to risk your life coming back to a dangerous place like here."

My heart dropped, though that was the answer I was expecting. This was the last time I'd ever see my family.

"I'll give you four a few minutes to say goodbye," She stood up. "I'll be back in five minutes.

She left the room.

Instantly, my mom rushed forwards and hugged me, I hugged her back, tears coming out of both our eyes.

"Oh, my son, my sweet son," She whispered in my ear. "I love you. I'll always love you, and always miss you. Never forget that."

"I won't," I replied as she pulled away. "I love you too, Mom."

My Dad hugged me next. "Good luck, son. I'll miss you."

"Thanks, Dad," I replied. "I'll miss you too."

John shook my hand. "Good luck, Matthew, in... wherever they're taking you, and in whatever they'll make you do."

"Good luck to you too, John," I replied. "Try not to make your future wife regret marrying you too much."

He laughed and ruffled my hair. I hugged my Mom again, and then my Dad, before Sarah was back.

"We have to go," She told me. "We're on a tight schedule!"

"Goodbye," I told my family as I left. They repeated the word.

The door shut behind me, and then they were gone. Forever.

I followed the Lady out of the building. She had her own long, black car waiting for us, and one of the guards opened the door for me. I climbed in.

I've never been in a car with seats before. I would've been thrilled, if we were under different circumstances. Instead, all I could think about was my family, and how sad they all looked when I took one last look at their faces.

"If you're worried about being lonely, don't worry," Sarah said from the row of seats in front of me. "Another boy from Yellow District #12 got a 100% average as well!"  
  
"Another yellow scored 100%?" I asked. The thought filled me with relief; I was worried I'd be the only color, with jewels as my only company. I was glad to know I was wrong.

"Mhm," She replied. "You two have made history, as this is the first year two people from yellow have become elites in the same year, and the first time there's been any male elites from yellow."

I didn't really care about her next words. I was a social person, I'd just always had my family, making me not really need friends. I had been worried about being lonely.

"But you two might've been overshadowed, unfortunately," Sarah said. "There was also a girl from Brown. She's the only elite to ever come from Brown, as they've never had one before."

"Really?" I asked. 

Brown was the only rank lower than yellow. They were miners, construction workers, and plumbers. They did the most dangerous jobs, and had high mortality rates.

"Mhm," Sarah purred. I felt like she was talking to me more to hear the sound of her own voice than to actually have a conversation with me. I was fine with that. I didn't want to talk to her anyways.

The car stopped at the Train Station, and the same guard opened my door. I climbed out, and followed Sarah down the stairs after she unlocked the gates.

The train arrived quickly, and we hopped on. I couldn't believe it was just yesterday I had been coming home from the Tests Center, as it felt like ages ago. This time, I wouldn't be coming back. I wish I could go back in time, and tell myself what my scores would be. I wished I had tripped while I was sprinting, pressed the wrong button on the memory game, done anything to skewer my score. But it was too late now.

We arrived at the Tests Center far too quickly. The place seemed deserted now. I followed Sarah into the main room, which had all the doors to the hallways leading to the rooms, along with the door to the room the Lord had talked to us in. One of the guards left us awnd went down the hallway that led to my room.

We waited for a few minutes before the guard returned with a boy who was around the same height as me. He had short brown hair and brown eyes, but his most noticeable feature was a long scar across his face, starting on his forehead, cutting diagonally over his nose, and ending on his neck. Scars weren't uncommon among us, but from how big his one, it looked like he had suffered a major wound. He's lucky he didn't die.

"Oh, there you are," Sarah exclaimed. "C'mon, we have a plane to catch!"

I didn't know what a plane was, but I had no choice but to follow her. The boy did too.

"Hi," He greeted me. "I'm David, David Moss, but my friends call me Lazercorn."

"I'm Matthew," I smiled at him. "Matthew Sohinki. Most people call me Sohinki. Why Lazercorn?"

"When I was five, I really liked lasers and unicorns," He smiled. "The nickname stuck."

"Nice to meet you, Lazercorn," I stuck out my hand. he shook it.

"Nice to meet you too, Sohinki," He said. "Nice to know I'll have at least one friend going into whatever we're going into."

We smiled at each other, and he looked like he was about to say something when Sharah interrupted us. We were standing in front of a short hallway leading into some sort of metal vehicle.

"Boys!" She smiled. "Are you ready to see the sun?"


	6. Mari

We followed Sarah into the strange vehicle.

It was small inside, with only six rows of two seats, three on each side, separated by a walkway. There were windows on the sides, and the roof was round, making me feel like we were in a cylinder-shaped vehicle.

"Sit wherever you like," She smiled at us. I was sick of her smiles. They were obviously fake.

David and I sat down in one of the rows. The seats were comfortable. In front of me, on the back of the seat, there was a foldable table and a screen which displayed a variety of movies, games, songs, and T.V shows. Sarah handed us two sticks of what felt like rubber.

"It's gum," She told us. "Your ears will hurt because of the increased hight elevation at a rapid pace. Chewing it helps. Don't swallow it."

"Did you just say 'increased hight elevation?'" David asked.

"Yes," She replied. "We're on a plane."

"What do planes do?" I asked her.

She gave me a dumbfounded look. "They fly. Didn't they teach you that in school?"

Neither of us answered her. I couldn't believe what she had just said. The vehicle we were sitting in; it was going to  _fly?_ They  _definitely_  hadn't taught us about that in school.

I instantly popped the gum into my mouth. It tasted sweet, and the flavor got more intense every time I chewed it, until the flavor just went away. It made me kind of angry, knowing that jewels invented food without the intention of eating it while we were starving.

"Put on your seatbelts," Sarah told us from her seat.

I did as she told me too. I had never actually put on a seatbelt before, but after some trial and error, I figured out I was supposed to clip the belt-like fabric into the buckle, making a tight belt around my waist that I felt wouldn't really protect me from anything.

"When will be able to see the sun?" I asked, remembering what she said earlier.

"You should be able to see it out your window, but you'll be able to get a better look at it once we land," She explained.

David and I looked at each other.  _We're going to see the sun._  The thought made me feel excited, before I remembered what seeing it would cost me.

Suddenly, the plane moved. I instinctively clutched my armrest as David pulled the plastic sheet obstructing the window up. We both watched as the plane moved forwards, onto what looked like a runway.

Then it started to pick up speed, and the plane tilted. I realized with a start that we weren't on the ground anymore; we were in the air. David and I watched with wide eyes as the ground receded below us, before our vision was obstructed by the pollution in our air. I didn't know how whoever was driving this thing could see, as the entire sky was a smokey gray barrier. I realized that I had just taken the last look I would ever take of the Yellow Districts.

"Goodbye," I muttered. I knew David heard me, but he didn't say anything.

We flew through the smoke for a while. I had turned to the screen for entertainment, though it wasn't nearly as exciting as the hologram box had been. After about an hour, I heard a noise from outside the plane that sounded like sucking.

I looked out the window, and noticed that the smoke was getting thinner. Then, I saw the strangest sight I'd seen in my life.

It was a tall net, that started high in the sky and dropped below the smoke, and I assumed to the ground, and was holding onto a circular hold held up by a pole I saw in the distance. I assumed there were more poles supporting it. On the other side of it, there was no smoke in the sky.

When the plane approached it, the netting broke apart, leaving room for us. I assumed it would reattach itself behind us. At this point, David was looking out the window too.

The sky was completely blue, and there were even some clouds below us. Real, white clouds, the ones I'd only ever seen in pictures that looked fluffly and fun to jump in. And, right at eye level with us, was the sun.

It hurt my eyes to look at it, but I didn't care. David and I both gasped. It was beautiful, this giant ball of powerful light. I was in awe.

Then I realized what I had just seen; the jewels had invented a technology that could suck the pollution right out of the air. And, instead of installing in all the factories, they left us to breathe in the pollution while making sure that it would never reach them. I could've grown up with clear skies. We all could have.

• • •

The flight had lasted for hours. I had fallen asleep at some point, and had awoken to David shaking me and telling me we had landed.

We had landed in a place Sarah called 'an airport'. We had exited the plane a while ago, and were navigating the crowded halls and rooms of the building. David and I stuck out like sore thumbs, as we were still wearing the baggy, yellow clothes of our rank. Everyone we passed was a jewel, and everyone we passed gave us dirty or disgusted looks.

"Hurry up boys!" Sarah called over her shoulder at David and I, while we tried desperately to keep up with her. How she managed to move so quickly when she had sticks attached to her shoes that were at least 20 centimeters high was beyond me. Her guards trailed behind us, like they were worried we were going to make a run for it. "We have a train to catch!"

It was a beautiful building, with white walls and large windows that illuminated the building with sunlight. I found myself looking at the sun often, both intentionally and unintentionally.

She took us out of the building and onto a crowded street, filled with people hauling luggage with them. The sight was so strange to me; all these people, dressed in such fancy clothes, bustling around. It was so unlike home, where the streets were commonly deserted besides people walking to or from work or people heading to the well.

The streets were covered with shops, more than there were in my entire District. I saw places I'd never heard of before; a place called a cafè, where people were eating and drinking things I didn't recognize. A pet store, which had animals I'd never seen before in cages behind the windows. A store selling technology, which I could see through the window. Useless stores, but ones I felt the desire to go to none the less.

Sarah took us to another large building with the words 'Train Station' written on top of the entrance in elegant letters. It was crowded in there, too. We followed her to a woman sitting behind a desk. Above the desk was the word "colors". I hadn't been expecting that, for there to be a diffrent entrance for colors, but I realized I should have. After all, people had been looking at me with disgust since I'd gotten off the plane. I knew exactl what these people thought of me.

"Matthew Sohinki and David Moss," Sarah said.

The lady gave her two white wristbands with barcodes on them, and she handed one to each of us. We put them on, and then Sarah took us through the door behind the desk.

This Train Station was huge. There was more than one train, and jewels were bustling on them. I wondered where they all went; what purpose would jewels have to leave their district? Was this district so huge that you needed to take a train from place to place?

"Where are we?" I asked Sarah, rushing up to her side.

"The Travel Center," She replied. "The place connecting all the Jewel Districts. It's not part of any district."

We rushed to the end of the building. There were two doors; one large one that was open, and looked rather inviting. The other one was small and had the word 'colors' imprinted on it. There were guards in front of both doors, and one opened the door for us when they saw Sarah.

"Unfortunately, you aren't classified as Elites yet, and are still classified as colors," She said as we walked in. It led to a small room with a desk, and a door on the side. "You'll have to wait here until someone shows up to change the color of your bracelets. They should be here soon."

Then she left, leaving David and I alone. I clutched my bracelet instinctively. I couldn't believe what she had just said. They were going to change the color of my bracelet? It was one of the only things I had left from home, and they certainly weren't going to let me keep my clothes. What would they even change it too?

"This is it, huh?" David asked as he leaned against the wall. "This is when it really begins."

"I suppose so," I replied, not taking my hand off my bracelet. "I still can't believe it."

"Me neither. I was convinced I would fail, after taking the Tests. I spent my whole time before the Announcement worrying that I'd become a brown." He chuckled. "I should've been worrying about what would happen to me if I passed, it seems."

I smiled. "What do you think they'll do to us?"

"I don't know," David replied. "For someone who's supposedly really smart, I have no clue about what they'll do to us. I'm going in there blind."

"Same," I leaned against the wall opposite him. "I don't like it."

He sighed. "Me neither."

I started thinking. Were they going to mix us in with the Jewel Elites? I hoped not. I didn't need people looking at me with disgust throughout whatever we were going to go through.

David and I stood in silence, both thinking our own thoughts. It had been ten minutes when the door we had entered through flew open. We both turned to look at it.

A woman had entered the room. The door slammed shut behind her as she looked at us, and we looked at her.

She had long black hair, which was combed to one side. She had brown eyes, and Asian features. They had taught us in school that people whose family originated in certain places had features that went with those places, and what those features looked like. I learned that day that my family had come from Europe, which had seemed like the coolest thing ever to me at the time. She was pretty, even though she looked pissed. But the most noticeable thing about her was the color of her baggy clothes and bracelet; _brown._

I remembered what Sarah had said in the car:  _There was also a girl from Brown._ If I had to guess, I'd say I was staring at that girl.

She kicked the door and turned back towards us. "Was the diamond who brought you two here a total asshole too?"

"She smiled too much," I shrugged. "But overall, she wasn't too bad, I suppose."

"Lucky," She said angrily, kicking the door again. "Mine wouldn't even look me in the eyes. Said it was 'beneath them', as if I was some disease that was transferred through eye contact. If I ever see that guy again in my life, it'll be too soon."

I didn't know how to respond to that.

"Who are you two, anyway?" She asked, turning towards us with her arms folded. I felt like I was being interrogated.

"I'm Matthew, and this is David," I introduced us. "Who are you?"

She snorted and leaned against the wall, looking less pissed than she had before. "The name's Mari. Mari Takahashi."


	7. The Elite Training Center

There were a few seconds of silence.

"Nice to meet you," I said awkwardly. The silence continued, as I leaned against the wall, making a triangle between the three of us. We all quietly looked at each other.

"You're a brown," David stated, as if he couldn't believe it. I shot him a look, as that was the stupidest thing he could've said.

"You're an observant one, aren't you?" Mari asked. She brought her hand up to tuck her hair behind her ear, and the arm of her shirt slid down her arm. I couldn't help but notice how muscular her arm was. "And you two are yellows. Guess we're in this together, huh? Bunch of poor people who've barely ever seen sunlight, throw into a world of Jewels."

"You were a miner?" I asked. From what I've heard of Brown miners, which wasn't much, they lived mostly underground. It would explain her fitness, as mining was hard work that took a lot of physical excursion.

"You guessed it," She frowned.

Before the situation could get even more awkward, a man entered the room from the door behind the desk. We all stared at him.

"Where's the fourth one?" He asked.

"What?" Mari replied.

The man sighed and pulled something out from under the desk. He placed them on the desk, and I noticed they were black uniforms.

"Who's David Moss?" The man asked.

"Me," David replied.

"Come here," The man instructed.

David did as the man asked. He grabbed David's bracelet arm, and turned the bracelet inside out. He picked a needle full of black liquid off the desk, and I could see David's eye widen. He jabbed it into David's bracelet, and we all watched in amazement as the yellow quickly faded away as it turned black. The man shoved one of the uniforms in his arms.

"Who's Anthony Padilla?" He asked.

"None of us," Mari replied. "He ain't here."

The man sighed. "Mariko Takahashi."

Mari walked up to him, and he did the same thing he'd done with David. Then he called my name.

I reluctantly held out my arm. I didn't want them to change the color of my bracelet, or take my clothes. As I watched the yellow disappear, reality really sunk in.  _I'm no longer a yellow._ It was a terrifying realization.

"There are changing rooms on the train," The man yawned after he shoved a uniform into my arms. "Or you can get changed here. I don't care."

I turned to see that Mari was already changed, her brown clothes thrown on the floor. David and I made eye contact, and he shrugged.

I slowly got changed. Mari wasn't watching us, keeping her eyes on the door. When I threw my old clothes on the heap David and Mari had made, I closed my eyes, like I was saying goodbye.

The man pressed a button on the desk, and Mari opened the door. The three of us walked out of the room.

Waiting for us was a sleek, black train that shined in the bright lights of the room. There were a few other people here; five at the most. I assumed most were already on board. Everyone was wearing the same uniform, and everyone's bracelets were black. The people who weren't on the train already had luggage with them.

Everyone's attention was on us. I felt self-conscious; I would be spending the rest of my life with these people, and they already see me as an outsider. It made me want to get on the train quickly.

Mari had the same idea, and we followed her on board. She walked to the back of the train. Unlike the train back home, this one had booths instead of rows of seats, with tables. The booth Mari entered had only one seat, which stretched around the entire table. We sat down as far away from each other as we could get.

Built into the table were several hologram boxes. I tapped the one in front of me, and it flared to life.

"Welcome back, Matthew Sohinki," The woman's voice sounded. "Congratulations on your new rank!"

This home screen had more options, such as scores, news, and work. I didn't feel like fooling around with it, so I touched the box again, turning it off. I leaned back in my seat.

"Hey, mind if I sit with you guys?"

I looked up to see a boy with glasses at the door to our booth. I looked at Mari and David, who both shrugged.

"Sure," I replied, moving over to make room for him.

"Thanks," He replied. "I'm Joven, by the way."

"Matthew," I shook his hand.

"What rank are you guys from?" He asked. "I'm a pearl. Or, was a pearl, I guess."

Pearls were the clothing designers, jewelry makers, and makeup artists. They were vain, and cared more about looks than intelligence or fitness. Elites were almost as rare there as they were back home. But something told me that this guy didn't care too much about his looks.

"I was a yellow," I replied.

"Oh," He wiped the shock of his face quickly. "Sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I just wanted to make sure you weren't like the emeralds, diamonds, and rubies at the front of the train. They're self-centered bastards. Or the quartz's, who just look at you coldly until you feel so uncomfortable you have to move."

"What diamonds are here?" I asked. I'd always assumed diamonds couldn't become Elites, as they already had important roles in society that couldn't be easily filled.

"Noah Grossman," He replied, shoving his glasses up his nose. "Oh, and you won't believe this: Princess Olivia Sui  _herself._ "

"The princess?" I asked.

"Yeah," Joven looked excited. "In the flesh. Along with Ian Hecox and Keith Leak Junior!"

"Who?" I asked.

"Uh, just the two highest-rising emeralds  _ever,"_  Joven looked shocked, like he couldn't believe I'd never heard of them before. "Ian's a comedian, and Keith's a singer. Guess they aren't anymore, but  _still._  Exciting stuff."

"Cool," I shrugged. I looked at David and Mari, who were both completely emerged in their hologram boxes, not even looking at us, let alone listening to us.

If the Princess was here, that means that the two diamonds wouldn't stay Elites forever; she was the Queen's only child, and the heir to Escana. I guess they were only here to higher their reputations.

"We will be departing in one minute," A man's voice boomed from the speakers lining the roof of the train.

"Are you excited?" Joven asked me.

"No," I replied. Mari smiled, which proved my theory of them not listening to our conversation wrong.

Soon, the train lurched forwards. I touched another hologram box, which displayed the same thing as the last one. Soon, all four of us were engaged in our boxes.

The train moved quickly, far quicker than the last one. Every once in awhile, I'd look out the window, and see the landscapes outside blur. At one point, a man had come by with a tray of food, and we'd grabbed everything he'd offered. Everything had a sweet taste to it, and was colorful with odd textures. The man had said it was called 'candy'. It was amazing.

We arrived at our destination in less than an hour. The train came to a halting stop, making my stomach turn. We exited the train nervously.

We had stopped outdoors. Lining the train tracks was a stone wakway, which we were standing on. Beyond it was a large garden, and beyond the impressive plants was a large building that circled the gardens. The building was made of some kind of black stone, and shone in the sunlight. It was breathtaking.

The same lord who had been at the Tests Center was standing before us one a small raised platform.

"Hello, Elites!" He greeted us. "Most of you probably remember me. I'm Matt Raub, the Lord in charge of the Tests. Today, we're going to get you settled in your new rooms. Tomorrow, you'll get a tour of the Training Center, and we'll explain to you what you'll be doing here."

A guard had walked up beside him. "Please listen for your name. I will be telling you your roommate. After I'm done, a guard will take the two of you to your room. There is one group of three because there are thirteen of you."

She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket. "Damien Hass and Wesley Johnson. David Moss and Ian Hecox. Courtney Miller and Ericka Bozeman. Keith Leak Junior and Noah Grossman. Olivia Sui and Mariko Takahashi. Joshua Ovenshire and Anthony Padilla. Matthew Sohinki and Shayne Topp. Please wait for your guard to find both of you and then follow them to your room."

I stood still, and a female guard approached me with a short, blond man standing next to her. Wordlessly, the three of us followed her through the gardens and into the building.

It was gigantic inside. The walls were painted white, and glossy black tiles blanketed the floor. The walls were coated with windows, letting in tons of sunlight. There were potted plants every couple of meters, and multiple flights of stairs in the wall to my left. She took us up one that said 'Residential-B' on the wall to the side of it.

She led us up a few floors, before leading us down a hallway that looked practically identical to the last one, though this one had white doors covering the left wall. She took us to one that had the number '36' nailed onto it in an elegant font.

"One of you has to open the door," She told us. "It'll recognize your fingerprints."

I did as she asked, and the door opened. She left as we walked in.

You could've fit five of my apartments in this room, that's how big it was. The floor was blanketed with a plush black carpet, and the walls were black. The farthest wall was nothing but a window, giving us a beautiful view of the gardens. There were two large beds, complete with canopies with curtains that we could pull to cover the bed is we wanted privacy. There was a large screen on the wall, along with three hologram boxes sitting on a table next to it. There was a large silver chandelier hanging from the ceiling, like the one at the Tests center, just five times bigger. Paintings covered the walls, along with a digital clock. There was another door on the left wall, which I assumed led to the bathroom. I could hear running water coming from inside it.

The two of us stared in shock for awhile, before my new roommate; Shayne, I believe his name was, walked over to the closest bed. "This one's mine."

I took the other one. Mine was the farthest from the door, and had a painting of two women covered in silks sitting in a boat hanging above it.

I went up to the window. "There's got to be curtains for this thing, right?"

"I think it's one-way glass," Shayne piped up from his bed. "I don't see any windows on this level on the rest of the building."

"What's one-way glass?" I asked.

"Glass that can only be seen from one side," Shayne explained. "So, like, we can look out it, but no one can look in it."

"Oh," I shrugged. "You're Shayne, right?"

"Yeah," Shayne shrugged. "And you're Matthew, right?"

"Yeah," I sat down on my bed.

"Nice to meet you," Shayne shrugged. "What rank were you before? I was a Ruby."

Rubies were the businessmen. They ran all the businesses of Escana, from our factories to their cafès. They were the third richest rank.

"Yellow," I scratched my arm, suddenly feeling very self-conscious.

"Oh," Shayne suddenly looked very awkward, too. "You don't look like a Yellow."

There was an awkward silence.

"Well, I'm going to go use the bathroom," Shayne said, quickly exiting the room.

I thought of what he'd said. How I didn't look like a Yellow. What did a Yellow look like to him? What were the Jewels taught about us?

In our schools, they had always taught us that Jewels were above us, that everyone was above us, except for Browns. I suppose they taught Rubies the opposite; that everyone was below them, besides Emeralds and Diamonds.

I thought of Mari. It was hard to imagine anyone who was poorer than us yellows, anyone who was hungrier. I'd barely thought about Browns while growing up.

I was suddenly compelled to ask her about her life, to tame the curiosity bubbling up inside me. Were their lives similar to ours, or far worse? Was she happy to be here, to leave everyone she knew behind?

Then I remembered that I'd only talked to her once, and she'd probably never answer any personal questions I'd ever ask her, no matter how much I wanted her too.


	8. Chapter Eight: The Tour

When he got out of the bathroom, Shayne turned on the hologram box, and started playing some show. It was a drama, about two Rubies from rivalry businesses who fell in love. It was interesting, in a way, but strange as well. Was love all that Rubies had to worry about, not food or medicine or anything like that? The idea was strange.

Dinner popped out of my bedside table, using the same mechanical system as the one at the Tests Center. It was some sort of soup, with exquisite spices. It was so foreign to my stomach that I had to eat it very slowly, out of fear that I'd throw up.

At 10:00pm, the hologram changed to the woman, who told us that it was recommended that we went to sleep now. A pill popped out of my bedside table, along with a glass of water.

I looked over at Shayne, wondering what the pill was for, but he had already downed it and had tucked himself into bed. In seconds I heard him snoring, and realized it was a sleeping pill.

I shakily put my pill in my mouth, and used the water to swallow it. I'd only ever taken one pill in my life, and it was a painkiller back when I slashed my side open with some machinery when I first started working at the factory.

I tucked myself into bed, and I instantly started feeling drowsy. I nodded off quickly.

• • •

I woke up at 8:00am, feeling completely awake. I wasn't even tempted to go back to bed. I looked over at Shayne, who obviously felt the same way, and had already gotten out of bed.

The woman appeared on the hologram box. "A guard will come get you for breakfast in 20 minutes."

So breakfast wouldn't be served in our rooms. I supposed that made sense, as they probably wanted us to socialize with each other. Seeing as I felt energized enough to climb a mountain, 20 minutes was more than enough time to get ready.

There was a new set of clothes on my bedside table. Seeing as Shayne was getting changed in the bathroom, I just got changed next to my bed. I put my dirty outfit on the table, and pretty soon, it was gone.

I waited for Shayne to be done in the bathroom, before rushing in. I was instantly awed by it. It was bigger than my apartment back home, and the walls, floor, and ceiling were made of smooth black tiles that felt wonderful against my feet. There was a small waterfall leading into a bathtub in the corner, with a shower opposite it. The toilet was behind two black silk curtains, and the sink was made of black marble.

I went to the bathroom, and washed my hands in the sink. Back home, there had been one bathroom for both of the sexes at the base of my apartment block, and you had to wake up extremely early if you wanted to use it before work, the lines were so long. It was crazy that I got this entire bathroom, and only had to share it with one other person.

Behind the sink's mirror was a shelving compartment that was split in two, with Shayne's name above one and my name above the other. We each had our own toothbrush, floss, toothpaste, and face wash. I even got my own shaving cream and razor, though I didn't know how to shave. Back home, all you had were scissors. In a way, I relied on my thin beard; it hid all the scars I'd given myself while trying to cut it off. All men did.

This was insane.

"Matthew! Hurry up man, you have two minutes!" I heard Shayne call.

I snapped out of my awed trance and rushed out of the bathroom. Soon after, we heard a knock on our door, and Shayne answered it. Our guard was here. I couldn't help but notice her gun, which she had resting in her hands. Why did she need it? Did she really think there was a chance that we'd try to attack her? The idea was absurd.

We followed her through the building, and out into the gardens, where there were a bunch of picnic tables resting in a grass clearing, surrounded by tall bushes. It was a sunny day, and warm. It seemed like everyone was here.

"Sit wherever you like," The guard told us.

I saw David and Joven sitting at one of the tables, and went over to join them. David's face lit up when he saw me.

"Matthew! There you are!" He greeted as I sat down. "We've been waiting for you!"

"Nice to see you too, David," I smiled. "Joven."

"Yo," The pearl greeted, earning himself confused looks from David and I. "Oh, I meant hi. Yo is slang for hi."

"Oh," I replied. How does someone get "yo" from "hi"? The more I learned about Jewels, the weirder they became.

"So, you know when they'll be serving breakfast?" Joven asked. "I'm hungry."

"Probably when everyone gets here," David shrugged.

"Who's missing?" I asked, searching the tables. I felt like I should know who was gone, but for the life of me, I couldn't notice who wasn't there.

"Mari," He replied.

I looked around, and sure enough, he was right. The former brown was nowhere to be seen, making me feel kinda stupid. Mari was one of the four people I knew here; I should be able to make out when she was gone. But where was she? Mari didn't strick me as the kind of girl who took twenty minutes to get ready in the morning. 

Then I started hearing shouting.

Everyone turned to the entrance, where Mari was walking in, obviously in an argument with... the _princess._

My jaw dropped.

Everyone stared at the two girls of Asian descent as they argued, yelling at each other. Everyone gasped when Princess Olivia smacked Mari clear across the face. Guards had to interfere before Mari retaliated, and dragged her over to our table.

"That bitch is lucky those guards were there," She muttered. We all gaped at her.

Did she not realize that was the _princess?_  One of the most powerful people in all of Escana? The future  _queen?_ Messing with her could make Mari lose everything, could land her in prison, or worse.

"Is she your roommate?" I asked her.

"Unfortunately," Mari replied. Her cheek was red, but she didn't look like she was in pain. "Hopefully they switch her with one of those two quartz girls."

Before any of us could ask her any more questions, servers started coming out from behind the bushes, plates of food on their arms. They skillfully started placing food in front of us, and I noticed blue bracelets on all their wrists, making me look down at my black one. It was still an unfamiliar sight. I missed the musky yellow it had once been.

Breakfast was pancakes, a delicacy I'd never had before. They were delicious, just like all the other food they'd served us. I ate mine quickly.

Once everyone had finished, the servers returned, this time handing out watches. The watched had black bands, and a black screen. I picked it up curiously, and examined it. The face read 8:35 am.

I pressed the button on the side, and the face changed, and showed me a schedule. I read it.

**7:30 am: lights on.**

**8:00 am: wake up.**

**8:20 am: breakfast.**

**8:50 am: morning workout.**

**10:00 am: first class.**

**12:10 pm: lunch.**

**1:00 pm: second class.**

**3:20 pm: third class.**

**5:40 pm: evening workout.**

**6:50 pm: dinner.**

**7:30 pm: freetime.**

**10:00 pm: recommended sleep time.**

**12:00 pm: lights out.**

I strapped the watch to my wrist.

"That's pretty cool," David exclaimed.

Mari and I nodded in agreement, as Joven just looked at him strangely. I supposed watches are a common sight in the Pearl districts.

"If I could please have your attention, Elites," I looked up, and saw the lord from yesterday, Matt Raub. "I'll be explaining what the plan is for today."

We all stopped talking.

"Today, we will be taking a tour of the building, to make sure you all know where to find everything tomorrow, when your classes begin," He explained. "We will be starting the tour in five minutes."

"Great," Mari muttered. I looked at her, and suddenly got the impression that she didn't want to be here.

"So, how are you guy's roommates?" Joven asked.

"Fine, I guess," I replied. "I have Shayne. He's a Ruby."

"I have a Red. His name's Anthony," Joven explained. "He's fine too. What about you, David?"

A slight blush bloomed over his cheeks, though it was barely noticeable. "I have Ian. He's an Emerald. He's funny."

"Well, of  _course_  he is," Joven chuckled. "He's a comedian. It's his talent."

"Mine's a bitch," Mari explained, unsurprisingly. "Thinks she's better than me. Acts like she's smarter than me, stronger than me."

"That's the princess you're talking about," I warned her.

"So?" Mari shrugged. "Let her kill me if she wants too, if she can't handle some criticism. I'm not scared of her."

We all stared at her, shocked at what she'd just said. Was that the general mentality of Browns? An absolute disregard for their own lives?

"Okay everyone!" Matt Raub yelled. "Time to go!"

We all stood up, and followed the lord out of the gardens. He took us through the building, and out the back of it.

Before us was a gigantic track, at least two miles long. Next to it was some weight-lifting equipment, and a large structure made of wood.

"Here is the field," Matt Raub explained. "This is where you'll be doing your morning and evening workouts."

We stared at it for awhile, taking it in. Then he started walking away, and we all hustled to follow him.

He took us back into the building, and up the stairs to the second floor.

"The second floor is where all the classrooms are," He explained.

He opened one of the doors, revealing a massive room. There was a screen at the front, and a desk. Across from it were multiple rows of seats.

"This is the writing classroom," He explained. "Here, you'll learn how to write masterpieces."

We followed him out of the classroom, and into the next one. This one looked similar to the last, but instead of seats, they had tables. Lining the walls were strange equipment.

"This is the science classroom," He explained. "This is where you'll learn how to conduct experiments."

He showed us four more classrooms. There was one for governing, inventing, medicine, and programming. Each looked similar to the last, but with defining features. Programming had computers in front of every seat. Medicine had lots of equipment lining the walls. Inventing had metal everywhere, on the desks and on shelves on the wall. Governing looked exactly the same as writing.

"For the next three months, you'll be taking all six classes," The lord explained at the end of the tour. "Then you'll pick one that you want to major in. If you ever get lost, just find a guard. Are there any questions?"

No one had any questions.

"Well then, you now have free time," He smiled. "Go and explore the building. Lunch will be at 12:10."

With that, he left us alone in the middle of the hall. We started breaking off into our little friend groups.

"What do you want to do?" I asked.

"Explore," David suggested. "They probably have cool rooms, like libraries, that we could find."

"Or gaming rooms," Joven piped up. "They could have gaming rooms."

Mari yawned, making us all look at her.

"What's the fun in that?" She asked, a smile spreading across her lips. She had a mischievous twinkle in her eyes that was both alluring and frightening at the same time. "Let's climb onto the roof."


	9. The Roof

We all looked at her like she was crazy.

"What?" David asked, like he couldn't believe his ears.

Mari grinned. "You heard me."

I could barely believe she'd said that; for someone who scored %100 on the mental test, it wasn't a smart idea to suggest.

For starters, the walls of the Training Center were smooth, making them impossible to climb. There were no grips. The windows in their rooms were too far away from the top of the building, making them impossible to use as a boost. The idea was insane, and that wasn't even counting all the trouble we could get in. I doubted that we were allowed to whatever the hell we wanted to. There had to be some rules in this place.

 _Rules they haven't told you,_ a voice in the back of my mind whispered.  _You can't get in trouble for something they hadn't told you not to do._

I told it to shut up.

"We're not doing that," I crossed my arms.

Mari blinked. "I thought you used to be a Yellow?"

"I was," I replied. "I don't see how-"

"I thought the lower ranks were supposed to be the stronger, riskier ones," Mari raised her eyebrow. "Us Browns certainly are. Comes from our absolute lack of care for our own lives, seeing how bad our living conditions were. We used to have gladiator fights with spoons."

"What?" Joven asked, looking appalled. I could relate. Something about the image of Mari, spoon in hand, attacking someone else... it was horrible. "Where did you work?"

The Browns covered the most dangerous and disgusting jobs. Mining, plumbing, farming... you name it.

"The mines," Mari shrugged. "We're getting off topic. Who's with me?"

No one said anything.

"Fine then," Mari rolled her eyes. "Have it your way. I'll see you soon."

She turned. The three of us watched her retreating form, making it's way to the door. Everyone else had left at this point, and the only sound was her footsteps, pounding against the floor.

"Wait," My mouth moved without me even thinking. "I'm not letting you go alone."

If something happened to her, something that I could've prevented... I don't know if I could live with myself. Sure, I didn't know Mari that well; heck, we'd met barely over twenty-four hours ago; but I couldn't just let her put herself in danger.

Mari stopped walking and turned. "You're sure you're up for it?"

I nodded. "Sure as I'll ever be."

She nodded her head. "Then get over here."

I did as she asked, jogging up to her side. She looked at Joven and David. "What about you two?"

They were silent for a few seconds, before David sighed. "Fine."

David jogged up to them, throwing his hands in his pockets. Mari looked at Joven, raising her eyebrow. "And you?"

It didn't take long for Joven to make his decision. He took one look around him, noticied that he was alone, and jogged up to her. "You're all insane."

"Nah, we're just looking for some fun," Mari's eyes were practically glittering as she led them outside. "Now, did anyone see any rope on their way here?"

No one answered her. I had no idea where to look; it wasn't like Lord Raub had shown us where the garage was. If this place even had any rope; it was rather unfashionable these days. Most people used plastic chords.

"That's what I thought," Mari blew a piece of hair off her face. "Anyone have a tolerant roommate? Someone who wouldn't mind us tying together the bedsheets? Mine's off the table; her royal highness would yell at me for not putting my toothbrush exactly where she wanted me too."

It still deeply unsettled me to hear her talk about the princess in that fashion. I'd been taught from a young age to respect the monarchy of this nation, and that if I didn't, I'd lose my head. Despite being greatly promoted in the ranking system, I hadn't lost that fear. I doubted I ever would. Either the schools in the Brown districts never taught Mari that, or she just didn't care. I didn't know which option was more likely.

"I don't know," I replied. "I barely know Shayne. All I know about him is that he's a Ruby."

"Same," Joven scratched the back of his neck. "Anthony barely spoke to me last night."

"Ian would probably find it hilarious," David said, a smile creeping up the side of his lip.

"Then we've got a winner," Mari clapped her hands. "Take me to your room."

David didn't need to be told twice. He led us back inside, and up the stairs. His room was only two doors down from mine. He opened it, and we all walked inside.

"So, um, before we tear up my bedsheets," David started. "What's the plan?"

"We're going to make a rope," Mari started to explain, "and lasso it through the window, making it land on the roof."

"How will it stick?" I asked. There were no pegs, or even roof tiles, to hook a rope on. The roof of this building was just as smooth as the rest of its exterior.

Instead of answering, Mari made a beeline for the nearest painting, which was hanging over what I hoped was David's bed. She took it off it's hanger, which, the closer I looked at it, didn't turn out to be a hanger at all. It was some sort of metal device, which looked like it was hanging on the wall with suction cups.

"With this," Mari pressed a button on the inside of it, and it popped off.

"There's no way that things stable," David crossed his arms. "It'll come off under our weight."

"No, it won't," Mari grinned. "Apparently, Jewels are really obsessed with making sure their paintings don't fall on them while they sleep. This thing won't come off unless you press the button on it's inside."

She walked over to the wall and pressed the device against it. "Here, I'll prove it. Try to tear it off."

David did. Then Joven. Then me. No matter how hard I tried, it wouldn't budge.

"See?" She raised her eyebrow. "Completely secure."

"Yeah, but if we tie the rope around it, it might press the button the second we put any weight on it," I pointed out.

"If I couldn't lock it, yeah," Mari walked over to the device and pressed her finger against the button. "Lock."

"Device locked," An automated voice rang out.

Mari turned to us. "Try pressing the button now. It won't get unstuck until I tell it to open."

None of us tried it; we trusted her at this point.

"How did you find this?" Joven asked.

"I have a fear of things hanging over my head," Mari shrugged. "You get it from the mines. I pulled my painting off, and there it was. It wasn't too hard to figure out how it worked from there."

I could see that; if I had to live with the constant fear of rocks falling on my head, I wouldn't be too stocked at the idea of a painting hanging over me while I slept.

"So, we're all in agreement?" Mari crossed her arms. We all nodded. "Good. Let's get started."

We sprung into action. Mari and I were in charge of making the rope, while David and Joven tried to find out how to open the window without smashing it. We decided that we'd only need the bedsheets from David's bed; the distance from the window to the roof wasn't that large, after all.

Soon, we were finished; and we hadn't even had to tear up the bedsheets. It took all four of us to pry the top panel of the window off; it was practically glued shut.

But we did it, and rested it on David's mattress. I didn't even want to think about how we'd get it back up.

Mari grabbed the chair from the desk, and placed it under the window. There was a small debate over who had the best throwing arm, before David brought up his past of playing in the school softball team. I handed him the rope, which Mari had already tied around the hanger, and gave him the thumbs up.

It took him more tries than I could count. He hit the roof with almost every swing, but getting the hanger to land face-down was next to impossible.

We lost faith in him after awhile, and moved on to the hologram machine, which we used to play games. Joven was a pro; he did this in his spare time, he admitted. Mari and I were quick learners, and soon, we were yelling at each other as we tried to beat each other's characters to a pulp.

After what felt like hours, David let out a cry of triumph. We all crowded around him, staring up at the roof. It seemed like he had gotten it to stick, and was pulling on the makeshift-rope. It didn't budge.

We did a quick test, letting Joven hang from it inside the room to see if it could support our weight (he was the heaviest, mainly because he was the richest of us). When the line held, we all cheered.

Climbing up wasn't an issue; we had all gotten %100 on our physical tests, after all. I went last, letting all of my fast-formed friends go before me. I had always been the selfless type, in a way.

When it was finally my turn, I wasted no time. I hoisted myself into the air, wriggling through the window. Despite being a deadly distance of the ground, I wasn't scared; the opposite, in fact. Seeing the small forms of people below me made me feel exhilarated.

I quickly got to the top, pulling myself up the rope, using the knots we'd tied in it as handholds. Once I had gotten to my feet, my jaw dropped.

Displayed in front of me was a vast grassland, stretching as far as the eye could see. All the grass at home had been yellow, but here, it was fluorescent green. The sun had started to set, bathing the plains in a golden-yellow glow. I could even see some sheep, grazing in the meadows. I'd only ever seen sheep in drawings before.

"It's..." My voice faltered as I stared, my eyes wide. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. I could barely believe my eyes; I didn't know such vast terrain of nature even existed anymore.

"Beautiful?" Mari guessed. "I know."

She smiled. In the sunlight, she practically glowed. Her black hair shone beautifully, and her pink lips were even more defined than before. I caught myself staring, and quickly looked away.

"We're going to have to come here more often," David muttered, his eyes as wide as plates. I could see why; we'd both grown up under the same circumstances. It must be as beautiful to him as it was to me.

"Agreed," I nodded. "This could be our meeting place. You know, somewhere to talk. It's easily accessible from our rooms."

"Are you suggesting that we sneak out after lights out? Break even more rules?" Mari grinned. "I like the way you think, Matthew."

The four of us stood there for awhile, staring at the sight, before my watch started to buzz. I glanced at it. "Oh, crap. Guys, it's dinner."

They had all noticed too, and were looking at their watches. I was sure we all would've stayed here forever if we could, but alas, we had no choice. We all started to climb back down the rope, making our way back inside. We left Mari behind, attached a hanger to the other side of the rope and slapped it against the wall, letting her make her way back inside. Once she was, we put the window back.

"Well then," She shrugged. "Let's go. We're probably late."

We were; I checked my watch, and noticed that it was ten after 6:30. We started sprinting down the hall, laughing as we did. I could only hope that there would be no consequences for our lateness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it's been three months. Yikes. Writer's block hit me badly.
> 
> But, I'm back. I'm planning on finishing this fic and my other Marhinki one before I start any more projects, so expect more updates in the future. If everything goes to plan, you should be getting updates every Thursday at 7:30 pm PST. Thanks for reading!


	10. Run

After far more wrong turns than I'd like to admit, we found our way out of the building. We sprinted through the garden, and found ourselves in the dining area. The sun had set by now, and the only light came from a few candles littered on the tabletops and the moonlight. Dinner had already been served, and our fellow Elites were eating.

Before we could sit down, Lord Raub was standing in front of us, his arms crossed. We all froze, except for Mari. I was starting to doubt that that girl was scared of anything.

"You're late," He stated.

"We got lost," Mari replied immediately.

"Lost?" He asked.

"Yup," She crossed her arms. "It wasn't like you gave us a map. You're lucky we found our way back at all."

"You do have a map," Lord Raub replied. "It's on your watch."

"You didn't tell us that," She shot back.

There were a few seconds of uncomfortable silence as the two of them stared at each other. Joven, David, and I watched in tense anticipation.

"Don't let it happen again," Lord Raub said, before walking off to talk to a guard. 

We stood there for a few seconds, before Mari started walking towards the table we'd sat at this morning. We followed her, and the four of us sat down.

Food was placed in front of us almost immediately. It was steak, with mashed potatoes on the side. I was starving, and started eating almost immediately. The other three followed suit.

Soon, our plates were empty, and our stomachs full. The servants came back and took our plates, before returning with cake. Despite being stuffed, I sat up immediately.

Cake, or anything with sugar, was as rare as gold back home. It had always been my dream to have chocolate. Having this in front of me, this mix of sugar and chocolate and icing, was more than I'd ever dreamed off.

Mari and David were staring at their's with the same shocked expression I had, while Joven had already started eating; he must've eaten plenty of cake in his lifetime, as he was a pearl. I shakily picked up my fork, dug into the cake, and brought a piece to my lips.

It was insane.

The flavors exploded on my tongue, sending waves of pleasure down my body. The texture was delightful, perfectly soft and spongey. I ate half of it in less than a minute, before reminding myself to savor it.

By the time I was done, and my plate had been taken away, Lord Raub had already stood up to speak.

"Elites!" He yelled. "Usually, you would have free time after dinner. But, seeing as you already had plenty of free time today and how important tomorrow is, we have moved lights out to 9:00 to ensure that you have enough sleep tonight. You have an hour and a half to get ready for bed."

This was met with groans, none of which came from our table. I was kind of glad; I was exhausted.

"I don't think we should meet on the roof today," I suggested.

To my surprise, Mari nodded. I had half-expected her to disagree with me. "Agreed. We'll talk more about it tomorrow."

We all agreed on that half-plan, and with her words, started making our way back inside the building. Most of our fellow Elites had already gone up to their rooms, as they had started and finished eating before us.

We walked in silence. Joven's room came first, and we said our goodbyes. Then Mari's. Then mine.

"Good luck with Ian," I told David.

He smiled. "Thanks. I'm pretty sure he'll be cool with it."

I sure hoped so; if Ian snitched on them for tying up the bedsheets, they'd have a huge problem.

"See ya," I said.

"Yeah," He scratched the back of his neck. "See you tomorrow."

With those words, I entered my room, closing the door behind me.

Shayne was already there, playing a board game that he'd gotten from who knows where with a brown-haired man, a blonde-haired woman, and a dark-skinned woman. They all looked up at me as I walked in.

"Oh," I froze in my tracks. "Uh, sorry for interrupting."

"You should be," The blonde woman snapped, taking me back a bit. "You're the yellow, right?"

"Yeah," I replied. This situation was getting worse by the second.

"Great," She stood up, and the other two people followed suit. "Well, this has been great, Shayne. I'll see you tomorrow."

She made her way to the door, the other two following her.

"Courtney, wait-" Shayne started.

"I'm not sharing a room with a yellow if I don't have too," Courtney turned up her nose. "Let's do this at Boze and I's room next time."

And then they were gone, leaving Shayne and me alone. He rested his forehead on the wall, breathing heavily.

I stood there, shocked. I should've been expecting it, really. The Jewels hated us Colors; that was common knowledge. And I was almost as far down on the scale as you could get. I was bound to be discriminated against sooner or later. It didn't make it hurt any less, however.

If this was how the princess was talking to Mari all the time, then I could understand why Mari wanted to beat the crap out of her.

"Thanks for that," Shayne growled, taking his head off the wall.

"What did I do?" I was angry now. It wasn't my fault his crappy friends were classist. "Are you seriously going to get angry at me for existing?"

There were a few seconds of silence as we stared at each other. Despite the fact that Shayne looked like he could beat me up in five-seconds flat, I didn't back down.

"Just my luck they pair me with a yellow," He muttered, storming into the bathroom and slamming the door

I didn't respond, instead changing into the night clothes I found on my bedside table and climbing into bed, turning on the hologram box. When Shayne finally got out of the bathroom, I brushed my teeth, flossed, and washed my face. I climbed back into bed just as the lights turned off.

• • •

I awoke the next morning to a loud beeping. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and located the sound. It was coming from one of the hologram boxes. The blue woman was there, saying "wake up" on repeat.

I didn't know what to do. Could I just go over and turn it off? Do I say something? I didn't have to wonder for long.

"I'm up!" Shayne yelled, throwing a pillow at the box. "I'm up!"

Thankfully, it shut up.

Neither of us said a word to one another as we got ready and made our way to the dining area. We were fairly early, and the only one of my friends who was there was Mari.

"Hey," I greeted, sitting down across from her.

She looked confused for a few seconds, like I'd snapped her out of a daze. "Oh, hey Matthew. How did you sleep?"

"Fine, I suppose," I shrugged. "You?"  
  
"The same as you," She replied.

I debated bringing up the whole thing with Courtney and Shayne; she'd understand. Thinking about what had happened made me feel horrible, and it might be nice to talk to her about it. Before I could decide, Joven showed up, effectively making up my mind for me. He was a Jewel. He'd never understand.

The three of us sat in silence as the last few people trickled in. David appeared just as my watch hit 8:20. He was walking with Ian, laughing at something the Emerald had said. When they hit the clearing, they separated, heading off to their different groups.

"I see Ian's cool with it," I remarked as David sat down.

"He didn't even know until I told him," David explained, still smiling. "I hid our rope under my bed, and someone replaced my sheets. They must have cleaners here."  
  
The thought of some Blues cleaning my room blew my mind. I could tell from the look of shock on Mari's face that it blew her's, too.

David had only been sitting for a few minutes before breakfast was served. It was eggs and bacon, which was simple compared to the cake from last night, yet still mind-boggling delicious. I doubted that I would ever get used to the food here.

Once everyone was finished eating, Lord Raub stood up in front of us again.  
  
"Elites, I'm glad to see you all here on time!" I swore he looked at our table. "Today, you will be starting what will be your usual day for the next three months. If you would all please follow me, we'll be starting your morning workout."

His words made me nervous. I'd never had a proper workout before. Would he be ranking us against each other? I sure hoped not.

We all stood up and followed him through the building, and onto the track he showed us yesterday. Lord Raub turned around to face us.

"Seeing as today is your first day, we'll be starting off easy," He started to explain. I noticed that a few other people had joined him, all holding clipboards and dressed in lab coats. "There will be no competitions today. My accomplices and I want to get a feel for your physical abilities. You should all be at around the same level, but some of you will be better than others. If you would all please line up on the track and get into a running position."

We did as he asked. The red gravel of the track bit into my hands, and I couldn't help but feel nervous. He hadn't called it a race, but he might as well have. 

"Take as much time as you need," He called. "Ready, set, go!"

None of us needed to be told twice. We were off like rockets, gravel kicking into the air behind us as we ran. We all knew that everyone was taking it as a competition. 

Usually, I wouldn't care. But Courtney's comments last night kept running through my head. I wanted to prove that I wasn't only as good as her, but better than her. I wanted to show her what a _Yellow_  could do.

I pushed myself as hard as I had on the Physical Test. The world melted away around me. I didn't know who was in front of me, or behind me. All I could concentrate on was the track in front of me.

I didn't slow down. Only when I had crossed the finish line did fatigue hit me, all at once. I staggered off to the side, bending over, desperately trying to catch my breath.

Someone patted me on the back. "That was much more than I expected off you, Matt."

I looked up to see Mari. "Matt?"  
  
"That's what I've decided to call you," She pointed at the track. "Look. You were at least two hundred meters in front of Shayne."

I stood up and watched Shayne cross the finish line, along with almost everyone else. I must've been pretty far ahead to have so much time to catch my breath.

"You almost did as well as me," She rested her arm on my shoulder and shot me a grin. She looked a lot prettier when she grinned, especially when she got that troublemaker's twinkle in her eye.

"I got second?" I asked.

She nodded. "Oh, the Princess is going to be so pissed about this. She got beat by not only a Brown, but a Yellow too!"

I laughed. I couldn't help but feel giddy, too. I saw Courtney, Shayne, and their little posse shooting me death glares, but I didn't care. Let them be jealous. It didn't change the fact that I beat them.

"Congratulations, Elites!" Matt yelled. "Now, let's move on to weights!"

Adrenaline coursing through my veins and a grin on my face, I followed the Lord to the weights set up beside the track, with Mari's arm still wrapped around my shoulders.


	11. Fight

Mari didn't take her arm off my shoulder until David jogged up to us, out of breath.

"Damn, Matthew!" He ruffled my hair. "I didn't know you had that in you!"

"Me neither," I laughed, making him slap me on the back playfully.

David had shown up with pretty much everyone else; it seemed like, besides Mari and I, everyone was on the same level. Most of the Jewels were shooting me dirty looks, but I didn't care. I'd beaten them. That was all that mattered.

Lord Raub turned to face us. "Good job, Elites! Now, for the next part of our warmup; weights."  
  
He gestured to the machines behind him, and the piles of hand weights. "Each station has its own purpose. There's a set of instructions at each one. For the next half-hour, you will be doing whichever station you want. We'll be evaluating you. After that, we'll end our workout by showing you how to use the gymnastics equipment. Any questions?"  
  
No one had any questions.

"Good," Lord Raub clapped his hands together. "Then, get to work!"

Everyone broke off into their friend groups. I turned to Mari, David, and Joven. "What do you guys want to do?"  
  
David shrugged. "I've never even seen any of this stuff before."  
  
I hadn't either. There were all sorts of complicated-looking machines that I'd never seen before in my life. The only things I came close to recognizing were the hand weights, but I'd never held any of them before."

"Me neither," Mari stuck her hands in her pockets.

"Really?" Joven scrunched his nose. "Well, we should probably start with the hand weights then."  
  
We spent the entirety of the thirty minutes at the hand weights section. Joven was the only one who knew what to do, and we followed his lead. The weights spanned from 5 to 150 pounds, and Joven showed us more exercises than I could count. By the time it was over, my arms were exhausted.

Lord Raub blew a whistle. "Times up!"

We put the weights away and followed him. I noticed that the Jewels hadn't lifted a finger to clean the stations they'd used, and left them for the Blues to clean up. 

Lord Raub led us to the gymnastics section. It consisted of a gigantic wooden structure, covered in bars and mats. It was at least five meters tall, and was quite imposing to look at.

"This is the gymnastics structure," Lord Raub explained. "Here, you'll be practicing agility. There will be helpers to guide you through the exercise. Please organize yourselves into groups. An instructor will come to you." 

Seeing as we were all already in groups, it didn't take too long for us to get organized. A brown-haired man approached us.

"Hello, Elites, I'm Sunny Peabody," I spotted a Red bracelet on his wrist. It made sense; Reds were the backup entertainers to the Emeralds, and a lot of them were dancers. It wasn't too much of a reach to assume that this man had been a dancer, and had developed the skills needed to be a gymnastics instructor. "I'll be helping you four today."

"Well, let's get started then," Mari shrugged.

Sunny took us to one of the sections of the structure, which had rings dangling from beams from the upper level. They were attached to the beams with long ropes.

"These are the rings," Sunny announced. "They're great for developing upper arm strength."  
  
He showed us a couple of exercises. He started off with making us hang from them, letting us get a sense of how they worked. Then he had us hang upside down, and then stand on the rings. Before he could teach us anything further, Lord Raub blew his whistle.

We thanked him and ran off to join the other Elites.

"That concludes our first workout!" Lord Raub announced. "You have ten minutes to get changed before we start our first class. You'll meet me in the Science Room. Now go!"

We did, racing up to our rooms. I grabbed my outfit off the dresser and raced into the bathroom before Shayne came in. The last thing I wanted to deal with right now was him.

Once I was changed, I ran down to the classrooms, which I somehow remembered the way to. I found the Science Room and spotted Joven, sitting in the back. I sat down next to him and waited. What I hadn't noticed during the tour was that all the desks had a touchscreen embedded on them, though when I tried to turn it on, the screen stayed black.

Mari showed up a few minutes later, and David not long after. Soon, all thirteen of us were there.

A brown-haired man dressed in a lab coat entered the room. He powered up the blackboard behind him and turned to face us.

"Hello, Elites!" He smiled. "I'm Mr. Patrick, and I'll be your science teacher, along with your programming teacher. I look forward to teaching you.

"Now, you may have noticed that on the desks in front of you is a touchscreen. If you turn it on and touch the red button on it's lockscreen, an electronic pen will come out of the desk. You'll need it to take notes, so if you all would get it, that would be great."

I touched the screen, and this time, it turned on. I did as he asked, and sure enough, a little white pen popped out of the desk in front of me. I grabbed it.

Once we had all done what he'd asked, Mr. Patrick spoke again. "Now, if you would write the word 'notes' onto the screen, that would bring up the notes page."

I did as he instructed, and the screen turned white, save for a few lines. It looked like the paper we'd used in school, but on a touchscreen instead. 

"Everything you write here will be uploaded to your account, which you will be able to access on your hologram boxes in your rooms. Now, today's class won't require you to take many notes, but I just wanted to get that out of the way."

He pulled a marker out of his pocket and wrote his name on the blackboard. "I know all of you come from different educational backgrounds, so for the next three months before class selection, I'll only be teaching the basics. We will go over biology, chemistry, and psychology."  
  
He wrote those three words on the blackboard. "Now, can anyone tell me what biology is?"  
  
All the Jewel's hands shot in the air, including Joven's. Mari, David and I just sat there. I racked my brain, but couldn't come up with anything. I had never even heard the word biology before.

"Yes?" Mr. Patrick pointed at a short, dark-skinned girl who I recognized as one of Shayne's friends.

"The study of living organisms," She said proudly.

"Correct," Mr. Patrick wrote her answer on the board. "That is what we will be studying first."

For the next two hours, he explained the basics of biology. About cells, diseases, reproduction, the works. I listened intently; it was all quite interesting.

A bell rang, stopping Mr. Patrick mid-sentence. He smiled at us. "That's the signal for lunch. I'll see you all tomorrow."  
  
And with those words, we all rushed out of the room.

I was starving, and couldn't get to the meal area fast enough. I could tell my friends felt the same way. The second food was laid down in front of me, I started shoveling it into my mouth. I was done in minutes. Soon, we all were.

"So, what did you guys think of the class?" David asked us.

"It was okay," Mari shrugged. "The teacher was cool."

"From what I've seen, he was the best one I've ever had," Joven stated. David and I agreed with him.  
  
"He's the only one I've ever had, so, I don't have anyone to compare him to," Mari shrugged.

"They don't have schools in the Brown Districts?" I asked.

Mari shook her head. "Not in the Mining ones, at least. You're kind of just taught by the community; if someone has a skill, they're expected to share it with the children."

"When do you have time for that?" Joven asked. "Do you have big community get-togethers or something?"  
  
"You could call it that," Mari snorted. "No one is ever separated from the community. We work together, eat together, sleep in the same place... you're always around everyone else."  
  
"You don't have houses?" I asked, dumbfounded. Even us Yellows had those; surely, they must've.

Mari shook her head. "Nope. Didn't even get a proper roof. We all slept in an old cavern. People regularly got crushed by falling rocks."  
  
She said it so nonchalantly, like she was describing the weather. It made my skin crawl.

"That's... that's horrible," I said, aghast.

Mari shrugged. "It's all I've ever known. Until now, I suppose."

There were a few seconds of silence as we all stared at her. Was that really how rough Browns had it? It was hard to imagine.

"Guys, it's not that big of a deal," Mari rolled her eyes. "It doesn't matter."

I was going to respond, before David spoke up. "Trouble alert."  
  
I followed his line of vision, and saw Shayne and his friends walking straight towards us, along with the Princess and a young man with glasses.

"You have to be kidding me," I sighed.

They stopped at our table. Courtney slammed her hands on the table, making the entire thing shake. I looked over at Lord Raub, expecting him to do something, but he just watched.

 _Great,_  I thought.

"Listen here,  _Yellow,_ " She growled. "I don't know how you pulled that win during workout, but I guarantee you, it won't happen again. I'll be damned if I let a Color be better at me in anything. And that goes to you too, Brown."  
  
"Well then, perhaps you should workout more," Mari didn't even look at the blonde-haired woman. "I didn't even have to try in order to beat you. Don't blame us for your pathetic failure, honey, because I assure you, it wasn't our fault."

"Watch yourself, Brown," The Princess walked up beside Courtney. "Your better is talking."

"According to our wrists," Mari held up her's, showing off her black bracelet. "We're equals."

"I'm still the princess," The Princess growled. "I could have you beheaded with a call to my mother."  
  
"If you think I'm scared off you," Mari stood up, a smile spreading across her lips. "Then you're even stupider than I thought. After all, we both know the only reason your here is because your mother forced them to take you."

That was when all Hell broke loose.

The Princess launched herself at Mari, screaming. The two women fell to the ground, throwing punches at each other. Courtney and the boy with glasses ran to help the Princess, while the other Jewels turned to David, Joven, and I.

We hastily stood up, and Joven and David ran. I was too close to Shayne's clutches to have any hope of escaping, so I did the only thing I could think off.

I punched him in the face.

His head snapped back, but it didn't take him very long to throw a punch back at me, which I barely dodged. The other Jewels had chased after Joven and David, but I didn't have any time to focus on them. 

I'd never been in a fight before. I watched Shayne's movements, making sure to duck and sidestep around his punches. I wasn't confident in my own fighting abilities, and didn't dare go on the offensive.

It took three guards to pull us away from each other; one for me, two for him. He struggled against them as I surveyed the scene.

Everyone was in the arms of a guard, except for the Princess and Courtney, who were both lying passed out on the ground. Mari had a cut on her forehead and bleeding knuckles, but besides that, looked fine.

David had a black eye, and Joven was on the ground, along with Shayne's other male friend. It seemed like Ian had tried to help, as he was whispering with David in a non-threatening way. The only two who hadn't gotten involved; a tall man and a dark-skinned man; were sitting at a table, their eyes wide in horror.

There were a few seconds of silence.

Then Lord Raub stood up. We all watched him in tense anticipation.

"Take them to my office," He instructed.

Then my guard was dragging me, and I could do nothing but let him lead me into the building, and towards whatever my fate would be.

 


	12. Lecture

The guard pulled me through the halls of the Training Center, and through a door I'd never even seen before. Mari, Shayne, David, and the brown-haired man weren't far behind me. The guards pushed us into four chairs that were lying behind a desk before stepping back, pulling out their guns in a threatening way. David and I shared worried glances, while Mari just looked at the window behind the desk, her expression unreadable. Shayne was struggling against a pair of handcuffs that the guards must've slapped on him. The brown-haired man was looking around the room curiously.

I didn't know what his problem was. The first night I'd met him, he'd been fine. Well, he had said that I didn't "look like a Yellow," whatever that had meant. Maybe that should've been a red flag, and I was just too stupid to realize it.

If only all Jewels could be like Joven. He'd been good from the get-go. I wondered why he was different than the others. Did schools teach Pearls to be respectful of Colors? Or were all the other Jewels force-fed propaganda that he hadn't been subjected too? Whatever the reason, I was glad he was the way he was.

Then I remembered the sight of him lying on the ground, obviously beaten into unconsciousness -or worse. My face paled. If anything happened to him... I didn't even want to think about it.

The door to the office slammed open, breaking me out of my thoughts. Unsurprisingly, Lord Raub walked in, his face blank. I watched him walk inside and sit down behind the desk, my heart beating rapidly, terror coursing through me. I could tell David felt the same way, although it was impossible to tell with Shayne and Mari.

He stared at us in silence for awhile, leaving me alone with my thoughts. What was he going to do to us? Back at home, disobeying your supervisors at a factory landed you a public whipping. Would he do that to us? Or did they have more brutal methods of punishment here?

Maybe he'd just send us home. I wouldn't mind that. I'd only been here for a few days, and I'd already landed myself in trouble. Perhaps I didn't belong here; I certainly didn't feel like I did. The extravagance of this place made me feel like an outcast, and the people inside it made sure to do the same. Being sent back might be the best thing for me. 

"Elites," Lord Raub smiled. "That sure was... interesting."

David and I shared a quick look, and even Mari looked taken aback.  _Interesting?_  What in the name of the Queen did  _that_ mean?

"You see, here at the Training Center, we like to let things run their course," Lord Raub started to explain. "We try not to interfere with your interactions. Learning to cooperate with one another is a huge part of what you'll learn here, and we find that when we try to force you to like each other, it tends to have the opposite effect."

There was a brief silence as he let us take in what he'd said.

"However," Lord Raub breathed. "We can't let you take it so far. Arguments are one thing. Causing physical harm to one another is something else entirely. If you pose a threat to one another, actions must be taken. I am sure we are all in agreement about that. That is why you, Shayne Topp, and your five friends when they come back into consciousness, will be punished."  
  
"WHAT?" Shayne roared, rising out of his seat. Two guards rushed forwards and pushed him back down immediately, but that didn't stop him from thrashing around in his chair.

"We cannot let you get away with harming other Elites," Lord Raub told the blond-haired boy. "That is unacceptable. I will discuss your punishment with you later on, once I have all of you here."

Shayne's face was red with anger. "My- my father will hear about this!"

"I'm sure he will," Lord Raub smiled. "I'm afraid your father has no power here, Mr. Topp. And the Queen won't lift a finger either, no matter what her daughter did. We are all equals here, young man. You are no exception."

Lord Raub turned to look at the four of us, who were staring at him in shock. "As for you four; you are all completely off the hook. Matthew, you and Damien Haas will be switching rooms. Your new roommate is Wesley Johnson, in room 256. You have my permission to leave. And, please inform the others that all classes are canceled today."

We all muttered a quiet yes and rushed out the room. Once outside I whooped in joy, and the brown-haired man threw his arm around David. Mari simply smiled.

"I was so worried," David laughed. "Gosh, I am so relieved."  
  
"Me too," I replied.

"Did you all see the look on Shayne's face?" Mari asked. "Priceless!"

We all laughed at that one.

"So, I guess we have the day off," The brown-haired man stated. "I guess that's a good thing."

"Yeah," David agreed. "You guys want to hang out in Ian and I's room? He knows how to make the hologram box display multi-player games, if you're interested."

"I sure am," Mari said. I nodded in agreement.

"Didn't he tell us to tell everyone else that class was canceled?" I asked.

Everyone groaned. 

Begrudgingly, we ran to the eating space. The only people who remained were the dark-skinned man and the tall one, who were still sitting at the same table, looking a tad traumatized.

"Hey Keith, Wes," Ian walked up to them. "Classes are canceled."

"Oh thank the Queen," the tall one said. "I hate classes. What happened to you guys, by the way?"  
  
Ian gave them a quick rundown, before inviting them to join our game sesh. The tall one agreed, while the other man said he wanted to work on a song. We left him behind and started making our way to David's room.

Their room looked identical to the last time I'd seen it; our makeshift rope was even lying on the ground. Ian qued up the hologram box, while the rest of us waited.

"Hey, are you Matthew?" The tall guy asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"I'm Wes." He held out his hand, and I shook it. "A guard told me we're going to be roommates now?"

"Apparently," I replied. I didn't know this guy, but he couldn't be worse than Shayne. That was an improvement all on its own.

Once Ian had the game set up, we all picked a character. Apparently, it was a really old game; from the 2000's. I was some small green dinosaur looking thing.

The game consisted of a few minigames, where we competed against each other. Things quickly got heated. We were all obviously competitive people, and I was probably the worst of us. There were arguments, yelling, a vase that got thrown at some point, but it was all in good fun.

Eventually, there was a knock on the door. Mari opened it, and much to all our relief, it was Joven. Besides for a black eye, which he was holding an ice pack against, he looked fine. We all patted him on the back and got back to our game.

The dinner bell rang after who knows how long, and Ian shut of the game. We headed down to the dining area, and besides for Keith, we were the only ones there. I didn't know what they were doing to Shayne and his gang of idiots, but the less I had to see them, the better.

After we were done eating, we headed back to Ian's, and played a different game. It had the same characters, but had golf cart racing instead of minigames. That got even more intense than the first game. Mari once even hit me, though it didn't hurt, thankfully. That woman could probably break my spine with a single punch if she wanted too.

Eventually, the bedtime bell rang, and we all said our goodbyes. I followed Wes farther down the corridor.

"Welcome," he said as he opened the door, "to the worst place in Escana."

The room looked practically identical to my last one, besides for one major difference; the five cat murals on the walls.

"What the..." My voice trailed off.

"It's great, right?" Wes asked as I examined the paintings on the walls. Someone had painted cats onto the light blue paint, and though they didn't look bad, it was still strange. "Damien painted them. Don't even ask me where he got the paint, because I do not know."

I laughed. "That's hilarious."

Wes smiled. "I know, right? Anyways, I'm going to have a shower. Make yourself at home. My beds the one closest to the window."

He walked into the bathroom, leaving me alone. I walked over to my new bed and rolled back the covers. Pajamas were resting on the bedside cabinet, and I got changed. By the time Wes came out, a towel wrapped around his waist, I had logged onto the hologram box and was watching stand-up comedy.

A new bag of toiletries were waiting for me on the sink when I walked in. I quickly brushed my teeth, flossed, and washed my face, before walking back into the main room. 

I was exhausted, and I could tell Wes was too. I climbed into bed, and Wes didn't wait before clapping his hands, turning the lights off instantly. With the comfort of the blackness, I drifted off to sleep.


	13. Class

"Elites! May I have your attention please!"

We all turned to look at Lord Raub, who was standing at the entrance to the Dining Area. I lowered my fork from my mouth.

"I am happy to say that we are staying on schedule today," Lord Raub announced. "Classes will resume."

"Great," Joven muttered, making David snort.

"That is all. You have ten minutes to finish your breakfast," Lord Raub announced with a smile. As soon as he said the last word, we all turned back to our conversations.

"You all ready for our first real day of classes?" Mari asked us.

"I suppose," I replied, poking at my eggs with my fork.

I glanced over at Wes, who was eating with Keith and Ian. I'd decided that he was cool. He was definitely an improvement over my last roommate, that's for sure. 

Speaking of Shayne, he was eating with his group. They hadn't given us any trouble besides for a few angry glances. I preferred it that way. The last thing we needed right now was another unconscious Joven.

"God, I hate this," Mari muttered. "They're always watching us."

She gestured at the scientists and guards, who were surrounding the clearing, guns in hand. The scientists were jotting things down on their clipboards every few seconds.

"I feel like a zoo animal," she complained.

I had to agree. I didn't really noticed them at first, but now they were cropping up in my vision everywhere I turned. They were observing us, watching our every movement, trying to figure out what made us tick. If they knew that, if they could break us down into a formula, then they could make everyone an Elite.

This hadn't been explained to us, but it didn't take a genius to figure it out. Their whole endeavor was pointless, anyway. There were no similarities between the way Shayne thought and the way I did. Whatever made us geniuses, it wasn't a trait you could track down by watching us.

We finished our meal in silence. I barely even had enough time to finish before a bell went off, signaling the end of breakfast. We stood up, and followed Lord Raub to the workout station.

Unlike last time, he gave us free reign to do whatever we wanted. Some of us broke off to the track, some to the weights, others to the gymnastics setup. We went over to the weights.

Back home, it had required a lot of physical strength to work in the factories. In comparison, this was like taking candy from a baby. It was easy, and I soon found myself bench-pressing 90-pound weights, with Mari as my spotter. We traded positions every few minutes. David and Joven, on the other hand, were using handheld weights.

After the workout was over, Lord Raub led us to the classroom section of the building. He stopped in front of one of the doors. "Welcome, Elites, to Inventing class!"  
  
We all streamed inside. The classroom consisted of a few tall desks and no chairs. Each table seemed to have its own theme; one was covered in wires, another with metal, and the last with wood. We picked the one with wires, which David immediately started tinkering with.

The teacher was already there. He was a short man, with glasses. "Hey, I'm Mr. Kornfeld, and I'm your teacher. Not that that holds much credit. The whole point of inventing is letting your creativity flow. If you ever need help with anything, just ask. Extra materials can be found in buckets under the tables. Have fun!"

Then he sat back down at his desk, where he had some sort of machine assembled.

"Great," Joven smiled. "We can do nothing if we want to."

David had already grabbed a bucket from under the table, and was sorting through it. "Now why would we do that?"  
  
We spent the class tinkering around with the mechanics. Out of the four of us, David was definitely the most involved. He was making new things left and center, making lightbulbs light and fans whirl. We hadn't been given much to work with, but the few items we did have, he made the most use out of.

After Inventing was over, we had a quick lunch, and headed over to our next class, which was medicine. The teacher, a woman who introduced herself as Mr. Patrick's wife, wasted no time before hopping into the lesson. She had a mannequin on her desk, and used it to show us how to bandage a broken bone. She spoke with such passion it was hard not to listen to her. The entire time, I was quickly writing down notes, trying to keep up with her.

The last class of the day was programming.

The classroom was covered in tables with computers on them. Real, physical computers, with keyboards and mouses. My eyes widened when I saw them; I thought that they were for sure a product of the past.

"Welcome to Programming!" A tall man, who I assume was the teacher, greeted us. "I'm Mr. Madej, your teacher, as I assume you all know. Please, take a seat."

We did as he asked. "Now, in this course, I'll be teaching you the basics of programming. If you just touch your fingertips to the screen, it'll sign you in automatically."

The second I did, the computer came to life, bringing me to a homepage, which was covered in applications.

"Now, if you could open Javascript," Mr. Madej began. "I'll be teaching you how to display words on a webpage."  
  
We spent the entire class fooling around with code. It wasn't that hard to get the hang of the basics, and soon, the four of us were designing web pages. They weren't very impressive, but they were something. I left that class far happier than I'd left any of the others.

Dinner was steak. The clearing was alive with sound, as we all talked to each other about the classes. We were no exception.

"Hey, guys," Mari said. "During free time, do you want to go to the roof?"  
  
"Sure," I replied almost immediately. David and Joven agreed quickly as well.

Soon, we found ourselves on the roof, a blanket rope trailing into Wes and I's room. It was calming, being back up here again. It was a windy day, but not too cold. We had a perfect view of the sunset as it lowered behind the shallow hills surrounding us.

None of us talked for a long time. After the sun had set completely, leaving us in darkness, did I speak.

"Where do you think we are?" I asked. "I mean, in the world?"

Mari, who was sitting next to me as we dangled our legs off the side of the building, scoffed. "How would I know? It's not like they gave us a crash course in geography back home."  
  
"They didn't give us one, either," David replied. "But we could still guess."  
  
"Iceland," Joven guessed. "They've got some fields."  
  
"So does most of Europe," I replied.

"And some of what used to be Canada," Joven pointed out.

"We're not in Canada," David argued. "The capitol's in England. We're probably somewhere around there."  
  
"Scottland, maybe?" I suggested.

"Does Scottland have fields?" Mari asked.

I shrugged. "No idea."

We sat in silence for a few more minutes, looking up at the stars above us.

"What do you think they want with us?" Mari asked. 

"They probably want us to do the most intellectual jobs," David replied. "Because we're the smartest. Those classes are just to prepare us."  
  
"But what about the people who scored %99 on their mental tests?" Mari asked. "Or those who didn't get a good physical score? They're just as smart as us."

"But they aren't perfect," Joven replied. "They want us to be perfect."

"And what if we're not?" I asked. 

"Then you better hope you're a Jewel," Mari scoffed. "Because if you're not, in the eyes of the Diamonds... you're worthless."

• • •

We went to the track this time, jogging together, so we could talk. Joven was the slowest of us, so we slowed down to match his speed.

After warmup, we went back to science. Mr. Patrick picked up right where he'd left off. By the end of class, my hand hurt from how many notes I'd taken.

After lunch, we headed to writing class. The teacher, a man called Mr. Fulmer, barely spoke to us. Instead, he wrote a prompt on the board (calling it a prompt was generous., as all he wrote was dog), and told us to write a story based off it. Paper had already been supplied, and I heard some Jewels complain about how "Primitive" it was.

I had never been a big writer. My vocabulary wasn't the largest, and my school hadn't been the most focused on literature. I wrote a short story about a dog that contracted rabies and killed its owner. I don't know why, but that's what I did. When Mr. Fulmer collected our stories at the end, I was kind of proud of it.

Then we were on to the last class of the day, and in the curriculum; Governing. The classroom looked like a Roman Senate; the seats circled the floor. Standing in the middle of the room was a stern-looking tall man with black hair and almond eyes.

We sat down. The second we were all sitting down, the man turned to face us.

"So you're this year's Elites?" He scoffed. "There's even less of you than last year."

"I can already tell this guy's going to be fun," Mari whispered to me.

The man snapped his fingers and pointed at her. "Excuse me, there will be no talking in my classroom unless I say you can. Understood."  
  
Mari rolled her eyes and nodded. I gripped my armrest. I could already tell this guy meant business.

"I am Mr. Lee Yang," The man announced. "Welcome to Governing. I know your other teachers are lax, but I guarantee you, I am not. Misbehaving will not be tolerated."

He looked back at us and pointed at Mari. "Now, if you're so smart, girl, please tell me; what's the number one rule of Politics?"

"Uh," Mari shrugged. "Staying in power?"  
  
"And how do you achieve that?" Mr. Lee Yang asked.

"By staying in public favor?" Mari guessed. Matthew could hear the uncertainty in her voice.

"Exactly!" Mr. Lee Yang announced. "Unless you're born into a powerful family, which all but two of you are not, then the only way you'll ever succeed in politics is if you gain the public favor. Think of it as a... popularity contest."

He turned to Olivia. "Tell me, how may you gain the public's favor?"  
  
"By keeping up a good public image," She responded. "Hold rallies and meet people. Make catchy slogans. Pick a group of people to appeal to, and stick with them. Construct yourself to be the perfect person."

Mr. Lee Yang nodded. "Good theories in idea, but hard to maintain. How are you going to uphold an image if it is not who you truly are? You will slip up. It is inevitable."

The rest of the class passed by in a similar fashion, as Mr. Lee Yang yelled at us. He was intimidating, sure, but he was also incredibly interesting. I found myself hanging on to every word he said. When the bell signaling the end of class rang, I was disappointed.

"Well, that was fun, hey?" Mari smiled as they walked towards the dining area.

"Are you kidding me?" Joven asked. "That guy was terrifying."  
  
"Oh, grow up, Jovie," Mari laughed as she messed up his hair. "Some people are intimidating. Get used to it."  
  
"It was definitely one of the more interesting classes," I stated. 

"At least someone agrees with me," Mari joked, throwing her arm around my shoulder. I laughed, though I could feel my heartbeat rise, though I had no idea why.

"Oh, shut up," Joven grumbled. And with those words, we walked to dinner.


	14. Future

***Three weeks later***

The soft sand of the fighting pit cushioned me as I fell, my staff flying out of my hands as I did. Never before had I been so grateful for sand.

"Get up!" I heard Mari bellow from behind me. Shakily, I do as she says, dusting myself off before turning back to face her. She throws me my staff, which I barely manage to catch. The rough wood it's made of slides against my fingers, including the one with a splinter, and makes me grimace. 

When will the darn whistle blow? I feel like I've been doing this for hours.

"Give the poor boy a break, Mars," David yells from outside the pit, his hands wrapped around a water bottle. Joven stands next to him, still panting from the fight he'd had with Mari more than twenty minutes ago. When it came to Bo fights, Joven was helpless.

"Why don't you take his place then, Lasercorn?" Mari grinned at him, twirling her staff around her body so quickly I could barely see its movement. Unlike Joven, Mari was a natural. I had a sneaking suspicion that she'd already had practice outside of the facility.

David returned her grin and grabbed his staff off the ground. "Gladly."

Those words felt like music to my ears. I shot him a grateful smile as I climbed out of the arena and practically collapsed on the bench next to Joven, who gave me a knowing look. I grabbed my water bottle and practically drowned myself with it.

When Lord Raub had some experts come in and teach us the basics of Bo fighting (how to hold the staff and how to strike and defend), no one originally cared. Sure, it was more fun than our usual workouts, and made you feel way cooler when you imagined mowing enemies down with the wooden staffs they gave us, but still; it was just a workout. I had figured that most of us would forget it in a few days and go back to lifting weights and all that jazz.

Then Lord Raub had announced that there was going to be a tournament, and that the winner would get two deserts each night instead of one for a month. Combine that with the fact that almost all of us were at each other's throats, and boom. Suddenly, everyone was practicing every chance they got.

I had to admit, the thought of winning was appealing. Smacking Shayne or one of his goonies with a staff was something that felt like it had come straight out of my dreams. Hopefully, I'd be able to beat the crap out of one of them before I was eventually knocked out, which was inevitable. While I wasn't weak by any means, I was when you compared me to some of the other people here. When it came to fitness, agility was my forte; not strength.

But Mari had a fair shot. She was definitely skilled, and had the passion. Seeing her give Shayne what he had coming for him would be endlessly satisfying. 

David was far from shabby too. He and Mari twirled around the arena, staffs meeting staffs as they both grinned. The two of them were the most violent out of our friend group, after all. It made sense that they would be our best fighters.

Eventually, David ended up hitting the sand. As Mari helped him to his feet, he laughed. David was cool like that. He saw defeats as lessons, not failures. Well, unless he hated you, that was. Then he'd see it as a slight against his honour, or something of that nature. He was weird like that.

"Impressive, Moss!" I turned and saw Ian, who was helping Keith at the weights station. 

"You know it, Hecox," David blew a kiss at him, which made Ian laugh. His relationship with Ian was... strange, in a way. They seemed really close. But David never brought him up in conversations, and would blush when any of us did. It made me wonder what happened in their room once we all said goodnight.

I mean, all Wes and I would ever do is watch movies, complain about Shayne and his gang, and completely ignore each other. Maybe I just didn't understand because I didn't have a close relationship with my roommate. Who knows.

"Wanna go again?" Mari asked David just as the whistle signalling the end of workout rang. David laughed, before the two of them rushed to meet us. Then the four of us rushed upstairs, got changed, and ran to Inventing.

Mr. Kornfeld was by far one of my favourite teachers. Not because he was a good one, mind you. Most of the time he just leaned back and let us do whatever we wanted, every once in awhile showing us an online video that would explain what he wanted us to do. No, I liked him because of how laid back he was. You could make whatever you wanted, and he'd be down with it. Plus, he was insanely easy to talk to. I never even hesitated to ask him a question if I had one.

We spent all of the class trying to make a remote control car. David was our design man, while the rest of us put it together. Mari and I had the most slender fingers, so we were in charge of putting wires together, while Joven made the frame and collected all our materials. By the end, our little slightly car looking machine could move approximately two centimetres away from the controls before stopping. But hey; it was something.

Lunch went by in a blur. Mari complained about Olvia for a bit, Joven told us about some show he had gotten into yesterday, and then the whistle was blown, and we were rushing to medicine.

Mrs. Patrick had gotten more hands-on in the past week. She had given us dummies and instructions, and then had us practice procedures ranging from fixing broken legs to open heart surgery. Of course, none of us even tried to do the latter. The four of us just practiced putting dislocated bones back into their sockets; you know, something that might be useful for us later on in life.

This was the main reason why Medicine was one of my least favourite classes. The dummies looked far too life-like. Whoever had made the had one clear goal in mind; to make them feel as realistic as possible. The material they were made of felt like skin, and their faces looked so close to real that it was eerie. Their glass eyes looked like they came straight out of my nightmares.

The worst part was what was inside them, however. Fake blood coursed through them, and their organs felt nothing like plastic. When Mrs. Patrick had them cut them open once so we could dissect them, I'd almost puked.

When the bell rang, signalling class was over, I couldn't get out of there fast enough. I'd heard enough squelching for today, thank you very much.

Then it was programming. Mr. Madej was one of the more fun teachers. Every class he had a new assignment for us, showing us new code and giving us different puzzles to solve. This class he had given us some characters and backgrounds, and some simple commands. We spent all of the class making little animations and stories. Mari and I had a lot of fun recording our dialogue, making our voices high and cartoonish. I couldn't get the little characters mouths to match the words, but Mari found my attempts at doing so hilarious, which made the process feel rewarding anyway. 

When the bell rang, we started saving our projects and making our way to the track like usual, when an announcement came online. "Will all Elites please make their way to the dining area. There is an important announcement."

The class erupted into worried mutters. They'd never cancelled evening workout before, and I couldn't imagine what they were going to talk to us about. 

Mari caught my eye and shrugged. I wished I was as carefree as she was about stuff like this. I swear, that woman wasn't scared of anything. It was slightly terrifying.

All of us walked through the building in a clump, making our way to the dining area. It was set up like it always was. We all sat at our normal tables and started small conversations.

"Why do you think we're here?" Joven asked, his eyes darting around the clearing.

David shrugged. "As long as none comes out here with a gun and shoots all of us, I don't really care."

"What, do we have two Mari's now?" I joked. Dark comments like that were normally her thing.

"Hey," Mari snapped her fingers. "David could never get as dark as I can."  
  
"Is that a challenge?" David raised his eyebrow. I swear, David was trying to act way cooler nowadays then he did when I first met him. Either he was trying to get his personality to match his wicked eye scar or he was trying to impress somebody. But I couldn't think of any girl he could be trying to court; Olvia, Courtney, and Boze were massive bitches, and he acted just as comfortably around Mari as he did Joven and I, which was not something you did when you were in love with somebody. When I was ten and had a crush on Pamela, she said hi to me once and I stumbled over my words and walked into a wall.

Maybe I'm just pathetic.

"You know it is," Mari said, returning his banter with a sly grin.

Before David could respond, Lord Raub walked into the clearing, flanked by all of our teachers. They stood behind him in a straight line before he pulled a microphone out of his pocket. Why he had pockets big enough to hold microphones, I couldn't tell you.

"Elites!" He announced with a smile. "For the past two weeks, you have been rotating between classes. We did this to make sure you all got a taste of each career path that is available to you. As our nation's brightest citizens, the classes you have been attending are meant to prepare you for your future serving our great country!

"It is time, however, for you to make a choice. You can not perform all six jobs at once, of course. You must pick a class to attend for the next year until your graduation. Pick wisely; once you have told us what class you want to join, you cannot change your mind. And whatever class you choose will also be your future career. You have two days to make your choice. Any questions?"

Olivia's hand shot in the air. "What if you fail your class?"

"Then your teacher will start giving you one-on-one sessions," Lord Raub explained. "But that will not happen. No one has ever failed a class in the entire fifty years this facility has been running."

Keith raised his hand. "What if you don't want to do any of the careers you've selected for us?"

Figures. It was common knowledge that Keith wanted to be a singer. Joven had played me some of his songs in the past, and I had to say, they were amazing. It would be a shame if he weren't allowed to pursue his passion.

Lord Raub frowned. "Any other career would be a waste of your talents. By pursuing any other, insignificant career, you would be doing a disservice to Escana and the Queen. Of course, you don't want to do that, I'm sure."

"No, m'lord," Keith's face fell. Ian wrapped his arm around him and gave him a pat on the back of reassurance.

"Any more questions?" No one raised their hand. "Great! You have free time until dinner. Do whatever you please."

And with those words, he turned and left, the teachers trailing behind him, leaving all of us alone to our thoughts.


	15. Talk

For a few seconds, everyone sits in complete silence. Then the clearing broke out into conversations as everyone freaked out. We had, after all, just been asked to choose our entire futures. But no pressure, right?  
  
"Wow," David mutters. "Did not see that one coming."

Somehow, he summed up all our thoughts with seven words.

"Me neither," Mari agrees. "Our entire futures... and we've only got two days."

It was strange, seeing her so shocked. I was under the impression that nothing shocked the great Mari Takahashi. It was nice to see that she had emotions just like the rest of us.

"That's too little time," Joven complained. "I can barely decide what to call my social media profiles in two days, let alone my future career!"

"Agreed," I nodded. "Well, not the social media bit. I don't know what that is."  
  
"Basically-" Joven cut himself off. "Actually, it doesn't matter."

There were a few seconds of silence that felt like hours. I didn't know exactly what I felt. Shocked? Scared? Confused? A mix of all of them?

"Well, at least we've gotten a taste for all the classes," Mari sighed. "We won't be blindly drawing names from a hat."

"We might as well," Joven pouted. "I don't know what I want to do with my life!"

"I'm just happy it'll be better than the factories," David said. "Anything would be better than the factories."

His words calmed me a bit. He was right. Nothing could be worse than the factories. No matter what I picked, it would always be better than what the alternative was back home.

Home. I hadn't thought of home in a long time. Was my family okay? John had passed the marrying age by now. Had he found a wife who he loved and who loved him back? Were they getting enough food? Were my father's migraines getting better? Did they miss me?

I felt guilty for not thinking about them for so long. What kind of son and brother was I, if I never gave my family a spare thought?  
  
"You sure about that?" Mari asked. "Spend a day in the mines, then tell me how nothing is worse than the factories."

That made everyone silent again. Everyone had heard horror stories about the mines. How it's workers were crushed and worked to near collapse every night. In the coal mines, they said that everyone's lungs were black from how much of it they inhaled. Was Mari from a coal mine?

As I thought about it, I realized how little I knew of Mari's past. She never brought it up. Maybe she was trying to put it behind her, to forget about it. If the horror stories were true, I could see why. Heck, there were numerous instances in the factories I'd love to be erased from my mind.

"Okay," David threw his hands in the air, like he was surrendering. "There is only one thing worse than the factories, and it is not one of the careers available to us."

That made Mari smile, which spread among the four of us like a disease, until we were all smiling like idiots. After that, we managed to switch the conversation to a more light topic.

After what felt like no time at all, Blues came out with dinner, which was spaghetti. We'd already had it before, and I ate mine quickly. Everyone else did the same.

Desert was cupcakes, which I gobbled down in an embarrassingly brief amount of time. Once there were four empty wrappers on the table, Mari stood up and stretched.

"You know what we should do?" she asked, making us all look at her. "We should go on the roof."

None of us had been on the roof since the first time we'd went up there, as far as I knew. I'd thought about proposing it at some of our discussions, but it's always slipped from my head before I could.

"I'm down," I said, standing up. David and Joven did the same, nodding their approval. Mari's eyes had a glitter of mischief in them by this point, which made her look even prettier than normal.

"Lead the way, m'lady," David said with a curt bow.

"Don't call me that," Mari snapped, but there was a smile on her face.

With those words, she turned on her heels and made her way back into the building. The three of us followed.

She took us up to the residential room and stopped at the door to Ian and David's room, before giving David an expecting look.

David sighed. "My room again?"

"You're the only one whose friends with their roommate," Mari said, crossing her arms.

"Wes and Matthew are friends!" David argued.

"More like friendly," I argued. Wes and I didn't hate each other, sure, but we were far from BFFs.

Knowing he was defeated, David slammed his hand onto the doorknob. "You win this time."

"I win every time," Mari said smugly, before opening the door and stepping inside. David rolled his eyes, and the three of us followed her in.

The room didn't look much different from the last time we'd been there. Housecleaning must've been through lately, because everything was neat and tidy. 

David threw his hand under his bed and pulled out the makeshift rope from before. Mari helped Joven take a painting off the wall, and ripped the hanger off. Within seconds, it was attached to the rope. David took the window pane off.

Mari turned to me. "Want to try and throw it up, Matt."

"Sure," I replied, taking it out of her hands before instantly regretting it. David had taken over half an hour to get it last time. I doubted I'd be any better.

I stepped onto the chair they had leaning against the wall and stuck the rope out, twirling it in the air as I tried to line it up with the roof. Eventually, I let it go. Time seemed to slow as it sailed through the air and over the roof, before landing with an audible _thud_. I pulled on the rope to bring it back down, but to my surprise, it didn't let me. I tugged on it a few more times, but it didn't budge.

"Dude, did you just get it on your first try?" David asked incredulously.

"I think?" I replied, still doubting myself.

Mari laughed. "Nice, dude."  
  
She smiled at me, and I found myself smiling back. The look of impressment she had on her face sent butterflies fluttering in my stomach.

"You're our new thrower, that's for sure," Joven muttered, making David shoot him a hurt look. "What? It took you thirty minutes to get it and him less than one. Don't blame this on me, bud."

David sighed, knowing Joven had a point. "Whatever."

Mari turned to look at me. "Are you going to go first."

It took me a few seconds to process her words. "Wh- ma- ye- sure. Yeah. Yeah, I'll go first."

She raised her eyebrow as I blushed. Did I seriously just stutter at answering a question as simple as that one? Gosh, I was pathetic.

"Then go," she motioned at the window.

I nodded and hauled myself out. It only took me a few seconds to climb up. Thank God or whatever deity exists, if any do. I collapsed onto the concrete. "I'm up!"

Joven came up next, David after him, and finally Mari. For a few minutes, we all just lay there, watching the beautiful sunset above us. It was breathtaking, especially when you compared it to the grey skies I was used to. I still wasn't used to seeing the sun and the moon. Maybe I would never get used to them.

Once the sun had finally set and the stars were twinkling in the sky, Joven spoke. "What classes are you guys going to take?"

Mari sighed. "I haven't even thought about it."

"Me neither," I replied. Not a single thought about my future had crossed my mind since the announcement.

"I've thought about it a lot," Joven remarked. "But I'm no closer to figuring it out."

"It's not exactly something you can decide over the course of an hour," David breathed.

"I know," Joven replied. "But you'd think that I'd be at least a bit closer to figuring it out."

"Well, we can start with classes we don't like and work our way up from there," Mari suggested. "I, for example, am most definitely not taking science."

"Why?" Joven asked.

"One word," she replied. " _Boring._ "

I laughed. Mr. Patrick was enthusiastic about his subject, but his subject was mind-numbingly dull. "I'll have to agree with you on that one."

"Me too," David piped in.

"You all suck," Joven complained, but I could hear the laughter in his voice. "Well, I'm ruling out inventing."

David gasped. "What?!"

"These hands were not made to handle small components!" Joven snapped back, which made all three of us laugh.

"Me neither," Mari replied.

"Your hands are the most slender of all of our's!" David remarked.

"That's because I'm a girl," Mari replied. "Doesn't mean they're good inventing hands either. I'm ruling that one out too."

"I'm going to too," I replied. Hands, of course, weren't the tree of us' only reason for ruling it out. Nothing about inventing seemed intriguing to me. In a way, it reminded me of factory work, which was the last thing I wanted to be reminded of.

"I was, um, actually thinking of taking it," David murmured. "It's my top pick at the moment."

"Oh," Joven muttered. A silence fell over us as we all realized what the meant. I hadn't even thought of that, which made me feel like an idiot. Of  _course_  we weren't all going to pick the same subject. We weren't all the same person, obviously.

Which might mean that all of us would end up alone. David would, if he chose inventing. And that thought was terrifying.

"Well," Joven cleared his throat. "I'm also ruling out medicine. Too real."  
  
"THat's what makes it fun though!" Mari and David replied at the same time, much too everyone's amusement. 

"I just love the feel of blood on my hands," Mari joked.

"Then it's a good thing you're a girl," I remarked. She gasped in fake offence and slapped my arm.

"Yeah, medicines definitely out," I agreed.

Mari sighed. "Yeah, for me too. I'm not patient enough."

"How about writing?" Joven suggested.

I shook my head. "Nah. Too tedious."

"Agreed," Mari agreed. "I like expressing my creativity through other forms."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Dance," she replied. "Everyone used to dance back home. Someone would lay down a beat and we'd all stand up and move. It's one of the only happy memories I have of that place."  
  
"Oh," I replied dumbly, because really, how do you respond to something like that?

"I've decided," Joven said suddenly. "What I'm going to do. I think I'm going to go with programming."

"Fair choice," Mari said. "Programmings fun."

More silence. There was only one other class left. No one bothered to say its name aloud.

As I thought about it, the more I realized that it called to me. Mr. Lee Yang was far from nice, and Governing was far from easy. But his class was one of my favourites, simply because of how engrossing it was. He always spoke with complete honesty. His lessons were important ones. The debates he'd made us have were incredibly fun. I never found myself glancing at the clock in his class.

And being a member of the Government; that would be far from unenjoyable. My entire life, I'd wanted to change my District. As a member of the Queen's court, I could. It was the closest I could ever come to improving the lives of my family and countless others. Younger me would've dreamed of having an opportunity like this. An opportunity to change the world.

I wasn't going to let that opportunity slip through my fingers.

"I'm going to do Governing," I blurted out.

"Me too," Mari said softly. I breathed a sigh of relief at her words. It would be nice not being completely alone in that room. "If Olivia's going to be Queen someday, I want to do everything in my power to get in her way."

"Suit yourself," David muttered. "So we've all decided, then?"

"Yeah," I muttered. "We'll still have the warmups, meals, and free time together. We'll be fine."

"Of course," Mari agreed. "We're a BFF square. Inseparable."

No one even bothered to ask what that meant.


	16. Choice

We lay there for a bit longer in silence. There was an aura of comfortability. Back home, I didn't have any friends. The only person I was remotely close to had been Pamela, and we barely even spoke to one another. I was that kid who sat alone at lunchtime. It had never bothered me, really, back then. I was used to it.

But being here, having friends, real friends... it made me realize what I'd been missing out on. Mari, Joven, and David felt like family. I felt comfortable with them, and loved. Some of my best memories were with them. Joven and David felt like brothers, Mari like a sister.

For some reason, pairing Mari's name with the word "sister" in my head didn't feel right, even though that was how I felt about her. At least, it was how I think I felt about her. It wasn't like I had a biological sister to compare my relationship with her too, but that must've been the closest word to describe the way I felt about her... right?

"We should go back inside," Joven's voice cut against the silence of the night. "If it gets too dark, someone might fall climbing back in."

"Okay, _mom_ ," David joked. I could hear Joven slap him.

Joven was right, though. We were high enough off the ground that falling would mean death. The last thing we wanted would be to increase that risk.

We sent David down first, as Ian would've returned by now and it would probably be best to make the most familiar face appear to him before the rest of us. Joven went down second, then me.

Once I was safely inside, Mari yelled down to us. "I'm unhooking it!"

We all grabbed the rope. "Ready!"

A few seconds later, she jumped. Thankfully, she didn't weigh too much, and the three of us managed to haul her in. I replaced the window frame.

"Are you going to get out of my room now?" Ian asked, letting go of the rope. He was already dressed for bed.

"Yeah, yeah," Mari rolled her eyes and opened the door. "See you guys tomorrow."

"See ya," I waved to her, before following her out. Joven and I waved goodbye to David, before saying goodbye to each other and heading to our rooms.

Wes was already asleep, which sucked, because his snores were louder than the saws back in the factory I used to work in. Generally, I tried to fall asleep before him.

I quickly brushed my teeth, washed my face, got dressed, and climbed into bed. I pushed some earplugs into my ears and settled into bed. All things considered, I faded out of consciousness fairly quickly.

• • •

The next day flew by fairly quickly.

Lord Raub announced that the Bo fighting competition would be in two days time at morning warmup, which encouraged everyone to grab a staff. The four of us sparred like usual. Joven, bless his heart, was more of a weights guy. All of us beat him easily.

Surprisingly, I managed to hold my ground against Mari for a solid ten minutes. She attributed this to luck. I coined it to skill.

But that tired me out, and David showed me what time of day it was in two minutes flat, which was embarrassing, to say the least.

Science was boring, as usual. I swear the only people who enjoyed it were Mr. Patrick and Boze, who hastily wrote down notes. We were learning chemistry, which was what was so engaging for her, from what I could see. From what I've gathered about that girl, she'd poison every single person in the country if she could.

Lunch was uneventful. I kept catching David glancing at Ian's table, which was confusing, as I couldn't figure out why.

Then it was writing. Mr. Fulmer had gotten a bit more lively over the weeks, and had taught us about nouns, verbs, the difference between they're, their, and there; basic stuff; I assumed that it would get harder for those who choose it as their main class. He gave us prompts every class, and let us write whatever we wanted. David, Mari, and I had a little competition to see who could write the most morbid tale, while Joven wrote light-heart comedies. 

After writing was over, it was governing. For some reason, I felt nervous going in. This would, after all, be the last class before I choose it. Was I really making the right choice by selecting it?

It must be easy for Noah and Olivia. They'd been selected for Governing in the womb. Sometimes, I wondered if they were really Elites, or if they'd just been placed here because of their status, and if they were, if it would even matter. 

Once everyone was seated, Mr. Lee Yang started talking. "This is your last class with me, besides for Mr. Grossman and Ms. Sui, and who knows who else. I want all of you to be warned; this is the hardest class you can take, especially if you are not a Diamond, doubly so if you are not a Jewel. Then you will have to work three times as hard. If you are not a hundred percent sure you can handle it, then I do not want you here. Am I understood?"

We all murmured "yes". Mari's eyes were glimmering, which came as no surprise. She loved challenges. I, on the other hand, was slightly terrified. Was I good enough?

After that shot monologue, he continued last class' lesson on public images and not taking anyone's words without a grain of salt in politics. By the end of class, he'd practically convinced all of us that every politician out there was fake, which made the Princess fume. 

My decision, however, was now firmly planted in my mind. No matter how scary Mr. Lee Yang was, or how terrifying the job I'd be signing myself up for in the process seemed, I was drawn towards it. Something in my mind was just telling me that this was what I was meant to do, and I was going to listen to it.

That night, I woke up sweating from a nightmare I couldn't remember.

• • •

The next day went by in a blur.

Vaguely, I could remember getting hit with a staff, shocking myself with a wire, spraying blood on myself, and falling off a chair, but that was about it. I was a ball of nerves. Gosh, did I just want this over with.

After Programming finally finished, an announcement came over the intercom. "Elites, make your way to the dining clearing."

As we walked, I didn't trust myself to speak without throwing up. It was a strange. I didn't feel nearly this terrified when I was waiting to take my Tests, and I knew that was going to change my life. So why was I so nervous now?

Maybe because it had been so sudden. I had known the Tests were coming my entire life. I'd known I was going to have to pick a career after two days, from six classes I'd only taken for three weeks after being thrown into an unfamiliar environment for four.

Mari threw her arm around my shoulders. "Matt. Get ahold of yourself."

"I'm trying," I managed to choke out.

She rolled her eyes and pulled me closer to her. The contact calmed my nerves a little, but not by much.

Once everyone was seated at their usual tables, Lord Raub walked out from behind the bushes, once again flanked by all our teachers. I was acutely aware of Mr. Lee Yang, who stood at the end of the line, his hands behind his back and his face threateningly neutral.

"This is how we're going to do it," Lord Raub said into his microphone. "You will be called up one by one. Once you are called, you will follow me out of the clearing and into the building. There will be a room waiting for you, with a touchscreen displaying your six options. You will tap one. Then you will leave. Any questions?"

There were no questions.

"Good," Lord Raub smiled.

One of the white-coated people who always watched us stepped forwards. "Ericka Bozeman."

Boze followed Lord Raub out of the clearing, leaving us all alone. No one spoke. At this point, everyone was nervous. Even Mari, though she'd never admit it. I could tell, from the way she was fiddling with her hands.

Soon, Boze returned, sitting back down at her table with her hands folded in her lap, looking relieved. "Noah Grossman."

As I watched Noah go, I realized they were calling us up in alphabetical order. That meant I'd be one of the last ones called.

I didn't know if that was a curse or a blessing.

Noah returned. "Damien Haas."

"Ian Hecox." David shot him a thumbs-up as he walked by.

"Wesley Johnson." I wondered what he'd pick. I didn't know much about Wes. Maybe I should try and change that. We were roommates, after all.

"Keith Leak Jr." Keith looked sad.

"Courtney Miller." Shayne kissed her cheek before she stood up. Were they a thing now? He had only really gotten mad at me after she did, all those nights ago. Maybe that was why.

"David Moss." We all gave him reassuring smiles. I doubted they helped much. If David was scared, he didn't show it. He returned with a smile on his face.

"Joshua Ovenshire." Joven almost fell over as he got to his feet. None of us laughed about it.

"Anthony Padilla." As he walked up, I realized that I hadn't noticed Anthony very much. He hung out with Keith, Wesley, and Ian, but didn't speak much from what I could tell. All I really knew about him was that he was a Red. I doubted he'd pick Governing.

"Matthew Sohinki."

This was it. Mari grabbed my hand and gave me a squeeze of reassurance. I smiled back, trying to calm my nerves. This was it.

Lord Raub led me into the building. My hands were clenching at my sides, and my forehead was sweaty. I didn't bother to wipe it off.

He opened a door to a room I'd never noticed before and gestured inside. The second I stepped in, he closed it behind me.

It was a small room. The walls were light grey. The floor was white carpet. The only piece of furniture was a podium, with a touchscreen on it.

All the pixelated screen displayed was a white background with six oval-shaped buttons on it, each displaying the name of a class on it. Science. Writing. Governing. Inventing. Medicine. Programming. The font was plain.

My finger hovered over the Governing button. Was I sure about this? This was my entire future. Had I really thought this through? What if I regretted it later?

I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths.

"Get ahold of yourself," I muttered. "It's a God-damn button."

Without giving it a second thought, I slammed my finger down. A popup appeared.

_Are you sure you want to select Governing as your class? This selection cannot be reversed! Yes. No._

I pressed  _Yes_ and practically ran back to the door. Lord Raub was waiting for me, and led me back to the clearing.

As I sat down, Olivia was called. Mari wrapped her arm around my shoulders.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" She asked.

I gave her the stink eye, but knew she was right. It hadn't been so hard. Not really.

Then she was called. She shot us some finger guns and walked out of the clearing, before returning fairly quickly. After her was Shayne. Then lord Raub appeared with a piece of paper.

"I will now read out your courses," he announced. "This is your last chance to change your mind. If you do, call out your name. Now, let's get started!"

He cleared his throat. "Ericka Bozeman; science. Noah Grossman; governing. Damien Haas; inventing. Ian Hecox; writing. Wesley Johnson; governing. Keith Leak Jr.; writing. Courtney Miller; medicine. David Moss; inventing. Joshua Ovenshire; programming. Matthew Sohinki; governing. Anthony Padilla; programming. Olivia Sui; governing. Mari Takahashi; governing. Shayne Topp; governing. Would anyone like to change courses?"

There was silence.

"Then it's dinnertime!" he shouted as Blues rushed out carrying dinner trays. "I wish you all luck in your careers, Elites!"


	17. Coming Out

Dinner went by in a breeze. At free time, I decided to go to my room. I needed some time alone. Thankfully, my friends understood, and just let me go.

Once I got to my room I practically collapsed onto my bed. Relief washed over me. It was finally over. I felt like I could breathe again.

It was far too early to go to sleep, so I turned on the hologram machine and selected a random show that I paid absolutely no attention too as my mind wandered. What was Governing going to be like? They hadn't taught us anything back home about how court worked besides the absolute basics. What had I just signed myself up for?

I turned off the show and laid back against my bedrest. Maybe pushing my anxiety away wasn't the best move. Perhaps I should confront it.

But not here. Suddenly, my room felt suffocating. I needed fresh air.

I grabbed my bedsheets and started tearing them apart, making a makeshift rope. It was hard to get one of the heavy paintings down by myself, but I managed and ripped the hanger off the wall. After what couldn't have been more than twenty minutes, the rope in my hands was practically identical to the one in David's room.

Next came the window pane. I had to lean a chair against the wall to get it out and lay it on the floor next to me. Grabbing the rope, I threaded it out of the hole and started throwing it up. Unfortunately, it took me far more than one try this time to get it to stick.

Eventually, it did. I let out a sigh of relief and pulled, making sure it was stable. Thankfully, it was, and I started to climb. It didn't take me very long to reach the top.

The hard concrete of the roof grated against my back as I lay down, but I didn't care. For a few minutes I just stayed there, breathing in the crisp air and letting the cold wind rustle my hair and clothes. The sun had just started to set, painting the sky a bleached orange. 

Then I got down to thinking.

I was going to be a lord. Letting that sink in was hard. The thought seemed unnatural. But it was the truth. Soon, I was going to be on par with a Diamond. I was going to be  _powerful._

That thought was terrifying. Power. It was something I'd never had growing up, something I'd never dreamed of having. Sure, I didn't know how much I was going to get, but still. It was power, and it was power I was going to have, power I could use. Anyone else would be ecstatic. So why wasn't I?

Maybe Mari was right. Maybe I was making too big of a deal out of this, and that was what was holding me back. Or maybe I was terrified of letting people down. Who knows.

Whatever it was, I was going to have to accept it. The terror might be a good thing. It might help me in the future, when I had to make big decisions. It might hold me back from making brash ones. I was never going to shake this terror; that was obvious. But if I could use it to my advantage... perhaps I could do something great.

"Hey."

I almost fell off the roof.

Once I regained control of my wites, I spun to face the person who had spoken. It was David, who looked like he was going to collapse from laughter.

"Screw you," I muttered, brushing myself off.

It took him a few more seconds to stop laughing. "Didn't mean to scare you, bud. Thought you would've heard me coming."

"Well, I didn't," I shot back. 

David threw his hands up in defence. "Sorry. Please forgive me, your highness."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever."

There were a few seconds of silence.

"So," David asked. "You still want to be left alone?"

I thought about for a couple of seconds. "I'm indifferent to it."

"So is that a yes or a no?" David raised his eyebrow. "This isn't writing class. Give me a straight answer."

"It's a no," I scoffed.

"Good," David sat down beside me. "Because I wasn't going to leave no matter what you said."  
  
"Typical," I muttered, slapping him slightly on the arm. "Where are Joven and Mari?"

"They're down at the warmup," he replied. "We were going to practice our Bo fighting, but then Wes and Shayne got in a fight and everyone started watching them. I left before it got too serious."

"With fists or staffs?" I asked.

"Staffs," he replied.

"Why didn't you stick around?" I asked. "Seeing Shayne get the crap kicked out of him sounds amazing."

David shrugged. "Just wasn't in the mood to see someone get their skull cracked open. Besides, Mari will probably give us an in-depth analysis of the fight tomorrow. I'll just get the details later."

"Yeah, probably," I laughed lightly. "She'd like that."

"Sometimes I wonder about her," David sighed. "Do you suppose she was born violent, or if it was her surroundings that made her that way?"  
  
"Maybe it was a combination of both," I replied. "But from what she's described of her home... I don't see how anyone could survive it without hardening themselves."  
  
"It's so surreal for me," David exclaimed. "I always thought that things couldn't get worse than home, you know? But she had it worse. That thought is just so insane."

"Well, you did get your face cut open by a machine," I joked, gesturing at his scar. "I can see why you wouldn't think that things could get worse."  
  
"This wasn't from a machine," David blurted out.

"Oh," I blinked. "I just assumed..."  
  
"Yeah, it's an easy mistake to make," David looked down. I was tempted to ask him how he got his scar, but I didn't know if that would be considered rude or not. If he wanted me to know, he'd just tell me, right?

There was an awkward silence. I drummed my fingers against the side of my leg. David was looking out into the distance. His breathing was erratic.

"You okay?" I asked. He turned to look at me, and I saw fear in his eyes.

"Yeah," he quickly turned his head again. There was more silence.

"Is there something you want to talk about?" I asked. "You can tell me anything, you know."  
  
"Yeah, I know," he breathed.

"You could murder someone and I wouldn't judge you," I paused. "Well, maybe a little. But I wouldn't turn you in."  
  
He laughed, but it sounded more nervous than anything. His fingers were going crazy, which I had learned a while ago meant he was nervous. "Seriously, David. You can tell me anything."

David took a deep breath. "I'm... I'm gay."

There were a few seconds as I absorbed what he'd just told me. "Oh."

To say I was shocked would be an understatement. I did not see that one coming, to say the least.

"Yeah," he scratched the back of his neck. "There you go. Now you know my deep dark secret."

"There's nothing wrong with it," I replied immediately. 

"Tell that to my dad," he scoffed.

More silence. I didn't know how to respond. I'd never met another gay person before. They were kind of taboo back home. Sure, we were taught that there was nothing wrong with it in school, but half of the people didn't share that belief. Gay people weren't allowed to get married or anything. Heck, they didn't really have any rights, now that I thought about it. 

"Well, this is awkward," David scoffed.

"Yeah," I agreed, raking my brain to try and find words. "You could've told me earlier, you know. You didn't have to keep it hidden so long."  
  
David laughed. "You really have no idea, do you?"  
  
"What do you mean?" I asked.

"How hard it is," David shook his head and turned to face me. He looked angry. "To come out. To tell people who you are. It's terrifying, Matt. But you don't know that, of course. You've never had to be scared to love someone. You've never had to think about how you'd be forced to marry someone you're incapable of loving because of a stupid law. You know why I didn't tell you earlier? Because the last person I told cut my fucking face open with a steak knife, and he was my Goddamn father. That's why. So sorry if I didn't come out soon enough for you."

"Holy shit David," my eyes were drawn to his scar. Suddenly, I was aware of how long it really was, how deep it was. His father did that to him. Purposely. What kind of monster would do that, especially to their own son? "I didn't mean it like that."

"Yeah, whatever," David shook his head and grabbed some crumbling concrete, throwing it off the roof. A tear slipped out of his eye. "Whatever."

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, feeling horrible.

"It's fine," David replied. "You're just an idiot."

"I know," I agreed.

He laughed and threw some more concrete. Suddenly, something clicked in my mind. All those glances at Ian's table, his blown kisses and odd relationship... David was right. I was an idiot. It had been in front of my face the entire time.

"So, are you and Ian..." I didn't know how to finish the sentence. Dating? Together? In love?

David chuckled. "Yeah. We are... dating, I guess? I don't know. It's complicated."

"Do you think you're going to tell the others?" I asked.

"That I'm gay?" he shrugged. "Yeah, eventually. I'm just scared that Mari would beat me up. Ian said that each rank is more homophobic than the last, so..."

"I'll help you defend yourself if she does," I replied. "I think you and me would have a chance against her if we teamed up."

"Let's hope," he shrugged. "I'll probably tell them at breakfast."

"I don't think she will, anyways," I blurted out. "I think she probably won't care."

"Maybe," David sighed. "Hopefully."

Even more silence.

"You know how in school, they used to teach us that Escana healed all the bad things about the past?" he asked. "How they told us that it's founders eliminated all bigotry? I always hated that. Because they really didn't. There are only three ranks where gay people are allowed to get married, and only one that lets trans people transition. And there's still a heaping amount of sexism in a lot of Districts. They just say that they did to make everyone think Escana is perfect, but it's not. It's so far from perfect that it's almost laughable."  
  
He turned to face me. "Take you and me, for example. We've been starving our entire lives. And everyone our age still is, but we dodged that bullet because we're perfect. But you shouldn't have to be perfect to be given basic respect and to have your basic needs filled. There are idiotic Emeralds out there who gorge themselves till they puke, but our people are starving. And the government calls this hellhole of a country perfect."

"Watch out," I warned. "They'll have your head if anyone hears you say those things. That's treasonous talk, David."  
  
"But am I wrong?" he asked. "Look me in the eyes and tell me I'm wrong."  
  
I looked into his eyes, but I didn't tell him that. Because he wasn't. I've known that for a long, long time.

"You're going to have to change that," David said. "You and Mari both. I don't think we've ever had any colours in politics. I would've done it if I thought I was up to the task. But you are, Matt. I know you are. You and Mari; you guys are going to change the world."

"Don't get your hopes up," I muttered. "I mean, just look at me."

"You're a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for, Matthew," David told me, grabbing me head and staring me in the eye. "It's time you realized that."

He released me and stood up. By now, the sun had completely set. He yawned. "I'm going to bed. See you later, Matt."  
  
"Yeah, see you," I waved. He waved back, before heading to his rope and climbing down. I realized that there was no way to unattach the rope going back into my room. I'd just have to leave it.

Once I was back in my room, I collapsed on my bed and thought over David's words. He believed in me.

Let's hope I can live up to his expectations.


	18. Competiton

Mari was waiting for me at our breakfast table. She gave me a small wave as I approached, which I returned, before sitting next to her. At this point, we kind of had a set seating arrangement; Mari and I on the south side of the table, David and Joven on the north.

We started some small talk. It didn't take long for Joven to arrive, along with almost everyone. Five minutes before breakfast was about to start, David and Ian showed up. Ian gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze before he walked over to us. I smiled at him.

Breakfast was served quickly, which was pancakes. That was a good omen. Pancakes were David's favourite meal.

Once everyone was done eating, David cleared his throat. "I have something I want to say."

"Go ahead," Mari shrugged.

There were a few moments of silence. David closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm gay."

Joven's eyes widened. "Wait, really?"

Mari looked confused. "What does that mean?"  
  
"You don't know what gay people are?" I asked incredulously. Mari shook her head.

"It means I like guys," David explained. "Like, romantically. And yes, Joven, really."

"Oh, there's a word for that?" Mari shrugged. "That's cool."

"So you're all good with it?" David looked relieved.

"Of course," Joven replied. "I'm bi, actually, so it would be strange if I didn't."

He noticed the looks of confusion on all of our faces. "I like men and women."

"Oh," Mari replied. "So Matthew's the only one here who doesn't like men?"  
  
"I suppose," I chuckled.

"Sweet," Mari leaned forwards. "Let's talk about guys."

"What about me?" I gasped in fake offence.

"You're excluded," she replied. "Who wants to start?"

"Ian's kind of hot," Joven smiled.

"Hey!" David hit him lightly. "That's my boyfriend you're talking about!"

"What!" Mari and Joven shouted at the same time. I laughed.

"Why does Matthew seem to know this already?" Mari shot me an accusing glare.

"He told me," I confessed. "Last night, when you were watching the fight."  
  
I realized that the fight had completely slipped my mind. I glanced over at Shayne and then Wes. Both of them seemed unharmed.

"Ugh, was that a mistake," Joven rolled his eyes. "Lord Raub found out and broke it up before either of them even got a scratch."  
  
"Which is probably for the best," I suggested.

Mari rolled her eyes. "Suit yourself. I wanted to see some skulls split open."

"That's weird, Mars," I replied.

She hit me lightly, which sent shivers up my spine for some odd reason. "Weird for you, maybe, lover boy."

"What did you just call me?" I laughed as the bell rang. She shrugged as everyone started getting up and heading to the workout session.

With the whole drama with David and the selection, the Bo fighting competition had completely slipped my mind. But as we walked, I remembered that it was today. Crap. I was far from prepared.

Mari and David were practically buzzing with excitement, Joven and I with fear. Bo fighting was fun when you were facing off against people you trusted. Not when you were battling your enemies.

A large fighting pit had been set up on the track, and had a makeshift bleacher resting behind it. Lord Raub was standing on the top step.

"Elites!" he announced. "Here's how this will work. You will be given ten minutes to warm up, and then the competition will begin. You will be given a random opponent. If you win, you will advance to the next round. If you lose, you will be kicked out of the tournament. This will keep going until we have one victor. Your preparation time starts... now!"  
  
Everyone rushed to grab a staff. Joven and I started sparring, as we were the closest in skill. Neither of us went too hard; we wanted to conserve our energy. I went over all the moves I'd learned in my head, trying to use them all. Was I going to win? Probably not. Was I going to try though? You bet.

After what felt like no time at all, Lord Raub blew his whistle. We all stopped what we were doing and looked at him. "Drop your staffs and take a seat, please."

We did as he asked. Thankfully, there was more than enough room on the bleachers, so the four of us could sit on the top all by ourselves.

Lord Raub made his way to the ground and turned to face us. "Our first match will be between Noah Grossman and Damien Haas."

I almost laughed as he said the names. Damien was almost twice Noah's size. He didn't stand a chance.

A white-coat was waiting in the middle of the arena with staffs. Just as I predicted, it took less than a second for Damien to beat Noah into the dirt. Well, sand, in this case.

"Keith Leak Jr. and Ericka Bozeman." Another easy win for Boze. She was a quartz, after all. She spent her entire life being trained for combat. Keith was a singer.

"Wesley Johnson and Courtney Miller." That one took awhile. They were both quartzes. Watching them fight was impressive. They twirled around one another so quickly it was hard to keep track of them. Eventually, however, Wes' strength won the match for him.

"David Moss and Joshua Ovenshire." Mari laughed when their names were said. I don't think I need to say who won that one.

"Ian Hecox and Olivia Sui." Ian won within seconds. Mari looked almost jealous.

"Matthew Sohinki and Anthony Padilla." I stood up and made my way to the arena. Somehow, I wasn't even nervous. The two of us grabbed our staffs and started circling each other.

I assessed him. He was taller than me, and had a bit more muscle. His hold on the staff was wrong, though. Obviously, he had no idea what he was doing. Know that I thought of it, I never saw him train.

He charged at me, an act I easily dodged. I hit him in the back of the knees, and he went down like a sack of potatoes. Mari shot me a thumbs-up from the stands.

Everyone already knew who was going to be in the final match, but Lord Raub said their names anyway. "Mari Takahashi and Shayne Topp."

I gave her a high-five as she made her way down the bleachers.

Once they both had a staff and the whistle was blown, Shayne wasted no time before charging at her. She brought her staff up to meet his easily. From there, it was a flurry of movement as the two of them attacked each other, hitting and smacking. The sound of wood cracking against wood filled the air.

Suddenly, they both stopped. Their staffs were pressed together in the shape of a cross, with Shayne pushing down against her. Mari's brow was beaded with sweat, and her teeth were grinding. Mari was undoubtedly strong, but Shayne's arms were thicker than some tree trunks. I didn't know if she could win this fight based on strength alone.

Joven, David, and I were on the edge of our seats, holding our breaths. Mari couldn't lose to Shayne, of all people. She'd never be able to forgive herself for it.

Then something extraordinary happened.

She pushed back with so much force, much more than Shayne probably expected her to be able of having, that he literally flew into the netting that made up the walls of the arena. By the time he'd processed what had happened, Mari's staff was at his throat.

"Wonderful!" Lord Raub started clapping. The three of us did the same, along with Ian's friend group. "We will now have a short break."

I rushed down to meet Mari as she stumbled out of the arena and swooped her up into a big hug. She buried her head into my shoulder, out of breath. "That was amazing, Mars."

"Thanks," she looked at me and smiled. I smiled back. We stared at each other for a solid thirty seconds before David cleared his throat.

"Water?" he asked, handing her a water bottle which she downed easily.

We spent the rest of the break sitting down, drinking water and catching our breath. By the time Lord Raub announced the break was over, it felt like no time had gone by.

"Now, one person will sit out this round, as there are seven competitors," Lord Raub announced. "That lucky person is Matthew Sohinki."

I breathed a sigh of relief. It may be an unfair advantage, but it was one I happily accepted.

"Now, for our first competitors," Lord Raub shouted. "Ian Hecox and Damien Haas."

The fight didn't last long. Within a few minutes, Ian was on the ground. Whatever Damien had done as a fitness workout back home, it had certainly made him stronger. Which sucked. Damien was Shayne's best friend, and was almost as bad as him. If he won, I'd be pissed.

"Wesley Johnson and David Moss." Crap. Wesley was almost twice David's size. He could probably use him as weights.

David put up the best fight he could, but it was no use.

"It's down to you two now," he joked as he sat down. "Avenge me!"  
  
"We will," Mari promised. "I swear it on my father's grave."

"Me too," I replied. "Well, my dad isn't dead, so I guess on my... grandpa's grave?"  
  
"Good enough," David shrugged.

Lord Raub cleared his throat. "Ericka Bozeman and Mari Takahashi."

That was probably the fairest match-up so far. Mari and Ericka were around the same size, and were pretty much equally strong. They fought for awhile, each a blur of motion. Eventually, Mari came out on top.

"Break!" Lord Raub called. I handed Mari some water, which she accepted gratefully. 

This break felt a heck of a lot shorter than the last. "Wesley Johnson and Mari Takahashi."

"Break a leg," I whispered as she made her way towards the arena. All I got in response was a laugh.

Mari and Wes' size difference was almost laughable. She was tiny compared to him. For everyone who didn't know her, they would automatically assume this fight would be an easy win for Wes. But I knew her. Wes had no idea what was coming for him.

Once the fight started, they circled each other for a few seconds before Mari lunged, before stepping to the right at the last second, faking Wes out. He barely spun to deflect her blow in time. Mari darted away from him.

She did this a few times, faking some and going directly for a hit others. Obviously, she was trying to tire him out. Wes didn't seem to be falling for it, however. If she wanted to win, she'd have to switch up her strategy.

And she did. She lunged towards him, pretended to fake, and then went in for a straightforward blow.

"Did she just fake a fake?" David asked as Wes crumpled.

"I think?" I replied. 

"Genius," he muttered.

As Mari walked towards us, he raised his fist for a fistbump, which she gladly took. Then she sat beside me and rested her head on my shoulder, bringing a bottle to her mouth. I just let her.

"Matthew Sohinki and Damien Haas," Lord Raub announced. David shot me a reassuring smile.

I grabbed a staff and retreated to the far side of the arena. Damien's eyes seemed to dig into me as we circled one another, trying to find each other's weak points. I couldn't spot any of his, which was a bad sign.

Suddenly, he lunged at me, which I barely sidestep in time. As he started swiping at me, I dodged like crazy, not even bothering to attack back. I couldn't see any openings too.

"Stay still!" he barked after my fifteenth dodge.

"Nah," I managed to croak out between dodges.

Luck seemed to be on my side that day, as, after one of his swipes, his staff miraculously got caught in the net. I didn't waste my opportunity. As he tried to rip it out, I smacked him in the back of the head. He crumbled.

"Break!" Lord Raub shouted as his unconscious form was carried out of the arena. I watched him go. They carried him to the side of the bleachers, where a doctor injected something into his arm, which immediately woke him up. Then I made my way to my friends.

"So we're going to fight each other, hey?" Mari laughed. "That'll be fun."

Crap. I didn't even think of that. "I'm sure it will be."  
  
She snorted. "I'm going to beat the crap out of you."  
  
"We'll see," I replied.

All too soon, break ended. We didn't even wait for Lord Raub to say our names as we grabbed our staffs.

We didn't bother to circle each other, to observe each other. As soon as that whistle was blown, we ran at each other.

I'd watched and fought her so many times I knew exactly what her next move would be, and vice versa. We parried each other's blows so quickly I was barely aware it was happening. 

She looked beautiful, in a strange way. Her face was caked in sweat, sure, but her hair was wild and frizzy and her eyes glimmered in excitement, her smile brightening her entire face. I'd never seen her look so pretty.

I realized we'd stopped moving. Our staffs were pressed together, and each of us was pushing, but what we were really doing was staring at each other. Confusion washed over her face.

Seeing as I was never one to pass up an opportunity, I used her few seconds of confusion to hit her in the knees. She fell, hitting the sand soundlessly. There was shock in her eyes.

"You're going to kick the crap out of me, huh?" I taunted.

She blushed. "Shut up, lover boy."

"Don't worry," I smiled as I helped her up. "I'll share the desert with you."

"How romantic," she muttered, before releasing my hand. "I'm going to expect you to keep that promise."  
  
"I'm wounded that you'd think that I wouldn't," I joked, which earned me a slight smack to the arm.

By that point, Lord Raub had reached the arena. Mari rolled her eyes and walked off as he took my hand in his and held it up. "Everyone, behold your victor, Matthew Sohinki!"


	19. Advanced

There was a short round of applause. My face burned from the attention. Hopefully, no one would be able to tell from how red it already was from the fight.

After what felt like an eternity, Lord Raub finally released my hand. I jogged up to my friends and sat next to Mari, who, thankfully, didn't look very angry.

Lord Raub took out his microphone. "Elites, you have twenty minutes to get changed. Then you shall go to your selected class."  
  
As everyone started filling down the bleachers, everyone started congratulating me. Well, by everyone, I mean everyone but Shayne's little posse. All they did was shoot me dirty glances, but I'd been expecting that.

Wes gave me high-five as we walked into our room. Then we both had a shower. Thank God for our bathroom's two stalls with one-way glass walls.

Until the cold water hit me, I didn't really realize how hot I actually was. The second it did, however, I realized I felt like I was on fire. The exhaustion of the fights was starting to wear in. Did they have to have the competition right before class? I felt like I might collapse, no matter how soothing the water felt against my sore muscles.

The amount of willpower it took to get myself out of there and get changed was honestly impressive.

Seeing as he was nowhere to be found, I assumed that Wes had already left. Crap. Was I late? I took a quick glance at my watch, then at the schedule.  _9:55._  I had five minutes.

Wasting no time, I slammed the door open and took off at a sprint. At a walking pace, the Governing classroom took ten minutes to get too. All I could do was hope that I'd get there on time. Something told me that Mr. Lee Yang wouldn't be too happy if I showed up late to the first class.

Finally, I saw the classroom approaching down the hall. I ground to a halt, smoothed down my outfit, and walked in.  _9:59._  Right on time.

Mari was waiting for me where we usually sat, on the top row. I plopped down beside her. "Was starting to think you'd be late."

"Me? Late?" I brought my hand to my heart and gasped. "You  _wound_  me, Mari."

She nudged me playfully with her shoulder. "Get used to it."

"Maybe you should just be nicer," I nudged her back.

"Me? Nice?" she mimicked my earlier action. "You _wound_ me, Matthew!"

Before I could respond, the bell rang, and Mr. Lee Yang walked into the classroom, dressed in his usual suit and tie. He sat down at his desk.

"So, you're the lot I'm stuck with this year, huh?" he asked.

"Yup!" Mari shouted out. I shoot her a look, which she shrugged too.

Mr. Lee Yang looked up at her. They stared at each other for a few seconds, before he looked away. Mari grinned like she'd won something.

"Well, let's get started," Mr. Lee Yang pulled a piece of paper out of his breast pocket. "I've assigned you all partners for the year. And no, you cannot switch with others. Listen for your name, as I will not repeat myself. Shayne Topp and Mari Takahashi. Olivia Sui and Wesley Johnson. Matthew Sohinki and Noah Grossman. Find your partners."

"Just my luck," Mari rolled her eyes. "See you."

I waved and stood up. Noah wasn't hard to find. He was sitting next to Olivia and Shayne, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else. I approached him.

"Hey," I greeted, extending my hand. "I'm Matthew."  
  
"I know," he rose to his feet and took it in his own. "And you obviously already know I'm Noah of family Grossman."

"Yeah, I do," was that how people greeted each other in the Diamond District? By throwing their family name in each other's faces? Was status all that mattered to them. "Should we find somewhere to sit?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," he scratched the back of his neck, releasing my hand. "Lead the way."

I walked to the back row and sat down. He followed suit, pulling out a notebook and a pen from a bag I hadn't even noticed. Huh. I was under the impression that Jewels thought that paper was "primitive," or some other equally stupid word. Seeing him with a notebook gave me some hope. Maybe he wasn't a total jerk like the other people he hung out with.

Mr. Lee Yang cleared his throat. "We will start out simple today. You will be given a few pieces of paper, and, with your partner, you will brainstorm and write down everything you know about court. You have until lunch, when I will collect it."

I hadn't noticed him enter, but a Blue was going around, handing out paper and pencils. When he handed me our's, I said thanks. That seemed to shock him. 

"So, we have an unfair advantage," Noah said. "I already know everything about court. Have been learning about it since the day I was born."

"Well, then I'll brainstorm, and you can explain it to me," I replied with a smile. 

"That works, I guess," he shrugged, picking up the pencil. "Shoot."

"So, the Queen/King is the most powerful person there," I started thinking back on what they taught us in school. "And there's... six? Seven lords or ladies on their court?"  
  
"Eight," Noah corrected.

"Eight," I repeated. "And each is in charge of three minor lords, who all run some important service that are usually related, such as tests operating, elite managing, and job sorting?"

"In simple terms, yeah," Noah agreed.

"And for a law to be passed, a minor lord must suggest it to their higher lord or a higher lord can just think of it themselves," I recalled. "If the eight lords vote negative, it's destroyed, and if they all vote positive, it passes to the Queen, who can decide whether or not to implement it?"  
  
"Yup," Noah said as he wrote it down.  
  
"And if the Queen drafts her own law, she can implement it immediately," I explained. "That's pretty much all I know."

"You don't know the role of Elites in court?" Noah sounded shocked.

I shook my head. "They teach us nothing about Elites in school. Our schools."

"So you just jumped into this class blind?" he asked. "That's brave."  
  
"I suppose," I shrugged. "But I would've been going in blind no matter which course I took, honestly."

"That must've been stressful," Noah scratched the back of his neck.  
  
"Well, you still had to make a choice too, so it's not like you can't relate," I replied.

He shook his head. "Nope. I'm a Lord's son. Governing was my only option. I would've picked Science, if it was up to me."  
  
There were a few seconds of silence. "That sucks."  
  
"I'm used to it," Noah shrugged. "Haven't made that many decisions in my life, to be honest."

"What do you mean?" I asked. No decisions? He was a Diamond, for crying out loud! The most powerful rank of them all! He could do whatever the Hell he wanted!

Noah sighed. "Most of my choices are made for me. Like taking this class, obviously. But also who I hang out with. Was only allowed to be friends with other Diamonds or other Jewels back home. Really liked this Purple girl, but nope, wasn't allowed to even talk to her. Even here, really."  
  
His voice dropped. "Do you really think I want to hang out with Olivia and her group of idiots? I'd much rather sit with Keith and his group. All the Jewels here besides him, Ian, and Wes are jerks."  
  
"But Keith's group  _is_  all Jewels," I pointed out. "What's stopping you?"  
  
"Olivia," Noah grimaced. "We're engaged."  
  
"What?" I asked, quite loudly. "You're only eighteen!"  
  
"We've been engaged since my parents figured out what sex I was going to be in the womb," Noah rolled his eyes. "My family's the second most powerful after her's. It was an easy arrangement."  
  
"That's creepy," I said without thinking. 

"I know, right?" he replied, crinkling his nose. "She's always been an arrogant, spoiled brat too. I've hated her my entire life. And someday I'm going to have to marry her! It makes me feel sick to my stomach."

"At least you'll be king," I pointed out.  
  
"I'd rather be a scientist," he sighed.

There were a few seconds of awkward silence. He started tapping his pencil against his leg.

"So, the role of Elites in court," he began. "They make up their own, separate court from the Queen's. Every time a new law is put in front of her, they all vote for or against it. If their vote is mostly negative, she had to veto it. If it's mostly positive, she has to pass it."

"But that would give the Queen no power," I pointed out.

"No," Noah shook his head. "Every year, she's allowed to ignore twenty of their votes. Combine that with the times they rule the way she wants them too, and she still has a ton of power. Elites, however, can get small-scale laws passed without even talking to her."

"So we have a lot of power, then," I pointed out.

He nodded. "You do."

I took note of his use of "you." Like he wasn't one of us. Strange. "Don't you mean 'we'?"

He laughed. "Can you keep a secret? You can't tell this to anyone, got it? If you do, you'll be executed, along with me."

That should've been a warning sign. But my curiosity got the better of me. "What is it?"

Noah leaned in and whispered. "Olivia and I aren't Elites. I only got 67% on my physical. She got 75% on mental and 97% on physical. We're only here because of our family's status."

I took a few seconds for that to sink it. I'd been suspecting it for a while now, but hearing it out loud was like a slap in the face. They didn't deserve this. They were only here because their families had power.

"Seriously?" I asked.

He nodded. "I know, it's messed up. I didn't have a say in it. It's just a play at getting the public's love.  _Oh, you don't like the princess because she doesn't give a crap about you? Well too bad, she's an Elite! She's perfect! You only dream of your kids being like her! So suck it up!_ It's a tactic that's been around since the Elite program was created."

"That's unfair!" I blurted. "That's so unfair!"

"What in Escana isn't?" he replied.

It took me a few seconds to calm down. He was right, really. I shouldn't be the this shocked.

He dropped the pencil. "I've gotten everything written down. Don't know what else to add."

"Neither do I," I replied, glancing over at Mari and Shayne. They were staring at each other like they wanted to rip each other's heads off which, knowing them, they probably did. Gosh, I hope they get into a fight. Seeing Mari show him what time of day it was twice in one day would be a dream come true.

 _C'mon Matthew,_  I reminded myself.  _Violence is never the answer._

 _Says who?_  I argued back.

 _Your parents,_ I countered.

Before I could rebuttal myself, Wes approached us, his partner still sitting on the lower steps. "Hey, you guys want to compare notes. Olivia refuses to work with me. Says I'm 'beneath' her, or something along those lines. I kind of stopped listening after she grimaced at me."  
  
"Yeah, sure," I gestured to the seat next to me. "You should be thankful that Noah wrote these. If it had been my handwriting, you wouldn't be able to read it."

Wes laughed and mumbled a quick 'thank you' before starting to copy our notes. I leaned back in my chair and glanced at the princess, who was sitting with her arms crossed. Then I looked at Mari, who was completely ignoring Shayne and just writing stuff down.

If we were the future rulers of Escana, then things weren't looking too good.


	20. Brave

***Three weeks later***

"In conclusion, adding any new requirements to the Tests would give new test takers more disadvantages compared to previous generations, weed out possible Elites by shaving off their mental score by a  _handful_ of percents, and make every future child feel dumber than they are. If we want to keep the integrity of our nation and the effectiveness of the Tests alive, we must keep them the way they are. Thank you for your time."

I step down from the podium, keenly aware of everyone's eyes on me. Thank God it's finally over.

One of the things I've learned about Mr. Leey Yang is that he always looks angry and/or disappointed. So when I glance at him and see him writing down my score with a scowl, I have no idea what his actual feeling about my speech was. And that killed me.

"Good job," Mari shot me a thumbs up as I sat next to her.

"You're just saying that," I mumbled.

She laughed. "Well, if we're comparing your's to mine, then it was horrible. But compared to some of the other 'speeches' we've seen today, your's sounded like God himself had come from the Heavens and delivered it."

"Thanks," I chuckled. "You always know exactly what to say."  
  
"Don't I?" she agreed, leaning her head on my shoulder as Wes walked onstage to deliver his speech. Over the past few weeks, Mari and I had grown far more comfortable with each other. I barely even noticed when she touched me anymore. Having her at my side felt more natural than breathing.

Wes' speech was good. He spoke with a lot of passion. His conclusion was the same as mine; that no new questions should be added to the Tests, but he had some points that I hadn't even thought of. When he was done, I clapped out of genuine impressment.

It felt so good to have finally finished. Ever since Mr. Lee Yang had described the project a week ago, I'd been freaking out over it. After all, all he'd given us was our question (should new questions be added to the Tests to guarantee that the scoring was more accurate?), told us to draw our own conclusion, and write a speech that was compelling enough to convince him of our viewpoint. I'd practically had a heart attack.

Not because I had public anxiety or anything like that. But because he told us to _convince_ him. And as far as I knew, Mr. Lee Yang was impossible to move. Which meant if I didn't pick the answer that he agreed with, I was screwed.

I'd figure out soon enough though, I supposed. He was marking as the speeches went on, and Mr. Lee Yang had a habit of reading grades out loud. I knew why, of course; he knew everything was a competition amongst us, and used that fully to his advantage. It didn't make me any less nervous, however.

Shayne went up next. He was arguing for more questions, on the basis that it would weed out those who weren't really Elites and had just gotten lucky. He looked straight at Mari and I as he said that. She flipped him the bird in response, which made his cheeks burn visibly. Them being partners for the last few weeks had done nothing to improve their relationship. If anything, it had the complete opposite effect.

Once he was finished, it was Mari's turn. I wished her good luck as she walked down, which she mumbled a quick "thanks" to before taking her place behind the podium. We weren't allowed to read each other's speeches beforehand, so I had no idea what she had. I was a bit excited.

She settled behind the podium and pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket before clearing her throat. "So, we're here today to talk about the question; should new questions be added to the Tests? My opinion on the matter is no, no they should not. Why? Well, basically because it would be unfair and disproportionately target poorer ranks. But honestly? I don't need to explain my viewpoint. I only spent five minutes writing this speech. Because this project was meant to teach us how to convince commoners of our viewpoints, which is a useless skill. The commoners don't have any power! Why should I care about them? It's not like they can vote me out. heck, most of them probably don't give a damn. And seeing as my position as a Governor is already secured, I really don't need to give a crap about my grades in this class, because they won't affect me in any way. In closing, new questions should not be added to the Tests. Thanks for listening."

The class was completely silent as she tucked her paper back into her pocket and walked back up to me. I stared at her with wide eyes as she sat next to me, before looking at Mr. Lee Yang. There was a smile on his face, which was so unusual it didn't quite look natural.

"What in the world was that?" I asked her.

She yawned and threw her arm around my shoulder. "Me being lazy."  
  
"That's going to cost you," I warned.

"Cost me what?" she raised her eyebrow. In a way, she was right. There were no consequences for getting bad grades. Not in Governing, anyways. David said that if you failed Inventing, you'd get demoted to being an apprentice for one that already graduated. But there was no way to demote a Governor, so really, she could absolutely pull off what she just did. And that drove me crazy, because she made it look so  _easy._

She was the last speaker. There were a few minutes of silence as Mr. Lee Yang finished his marking, before standing up with his clipboard and walking behind the podium. He raised his hand, which we had all learned awhile ago was his way of telling all of us to shut the hell up.

"So, that was relatively disappointing," he sighed. "Most of you sounded like monotone robots. Only two of you even managed to convince me. It felt like you'd only taken one day to write those, let alone a week. And if you think I'm going too hard on you, this was meant to prepare you for talking to commoners, which Mariko so  _kindly_ pointed out. They will always be dissecting your every word. So being convincing is crucial."

He made a _tsk_  noise with his tongue. "With no further ado, here are your marks. Olivia, 65%. Noah, 95%. Shayne, 85%. Wes, 83%. Matthew, 95%. Mari, 100%."  
  
"What!" Olivia shouted angrily, jumping to her feet. "Her? A hundred percent? She didn't even do the assignment!"

"Oh, she did, Princess," Mr. Lee Yang smiled. "I told you to deliver me a viewpoint that would convince me. Her speech was very convincing."

"But she didn't talk about the topic you'd given us!" Olivia pouted like an angry toddler who'd only gotten one cookie instead of two.

"One of the main arts of politics is deflection," Mr. Lee Yang laughed. "A politician never wants to answer a question with the answer the interviewer or whoever asked. Mari has supplied a talent in that skill. Will her brutal honesty help her public image? Not at all. But she doesn't think she needs one, so does it really matter?"

"You've been telling us for six weeks that it did!" Shayne joined Olivia on his feet, his face as red as a tomato.

"I am aware," Mr. Lee Yang replied. "Because it is. And if Mari ever voices her opinion to the public, she will learn very quickly what the consequences are. But your assignment was to convince me of your viewpoint, and she did that effortlessly. Now sit down."  
  
Olivia and Shayne did as they were told, though not happily. As they did, Mari's hand shot in the air, though she didn't wait to be called on. "And what consequences are those, Mr. Lee Yang?"

"Do you truly believe the opinions of the public don't matter?" he asked in response.

"Yes," Mari laughed. "This isn't a democracy. The people don't have power. The only time the public's opinion of me would get in my way would be if one of them tried to murder me in my sleep. What are they going to do? Vote me out? We all know how our _glorious_  nation feels about  _that_  system."

There was a sickly silence as we all stared at her. Was she mad? That was borderline treason she was speaking about, and she was throwing those words around like they were lighter than a feather.

"You're a brave girl, Mariko," Mr. Lee Yang smiled. "Braver than you have any right to be."  
  
"Spend a day in the mines, and you'll see how brave I can really be," Mari leaned forwards. "And I'm  _not_  a girl."

More silence. I'd never seen anyone stand up to Mr. Lee Yang like this. And bringing up the Brown District? That left even the Jewel's mouths hanging open.

"My apologies," Mr. Lee Yang conceded. "You're a very brave woman, Mari. That tongue of your's will get you in trouble one day."  
  
"It already has," she replied, her eyes glittering in that way they always did when someone challenged her. "I once almost got my tongue cut out by a thirty-year-old man armed with nothing but a piece of jagged stone. He ended up with it in his neck."

I smacked her lightly. What the hell was she doing? This was so, so dangerous.

"You haven't done that," Shayne shouted. "You're just lying to make yourself seem tougher than you really are."

"Am I now?" Mari replied bitterly. "Tell me, Shayne, have you ever been to a Brown District? Have you ever seen our suffering? How children will kill each other over crumbs? How mothers will eat their own babies to keep themselves alive? How none of us have ever gone a day without having blood on our hands? But no, go on, tell me how you're so strong because you hit had to run some laps and have boxing matches where you could concede with one word. How brave of you."

It was so silent you could hear a pin drop. She stared at Shayne for a few seconds before turning to me. "Get a load of them, Matt. They probably think we used to go to our beds with full stomachs. That we've never felt pain. Tell me, how many people have you seen die?"

For a few seconds, I was conflicted. I hated her for dragging me into this, but the idea of yelling at Shayne was too tantalizing to give up. I thought about it for a few seconds. "Twenty-two."  
  
"Ever got your hand caught in a machine?" she asked with a taunting smile.

"More times than I can count," I smiled back, holding up my hand and showing her the scars. "Almost got my hand torn off once. I bled until my skin was a shade whiter than it was before. Don't think I ever fully healed."

"That's so relatable," she replied. "A rock fell on my leg. I could only afford to take a break for five days. But, tell me, Shayne, how tough are you?"

He had no answer for us. All the Jewels were staring at us with wide-eyes, their mouths gaping open like they were trying to catch flies. Mari slipped her hand into mine.

Mr. Lee Yang cleared his throat. "If you are all done, I have an announcement to make."

"We're done," Mari smiled at him.

"Good," Mr. Lee Yang sighed. "Tomorrow, we will be going on a tour of the top Districts of all the ranks, to give you a feel of the places you will someday be ruling. We will be leaving at morning workout, and going in order from most influential to least. This trip is mandatory. Any questions? No? Good. Class dismissed."

Most of us seemed to be happy to get out of there. The Jewels dashed towards the door, while Mari and I got to our feet and walked out slowly.

I didn't remove my hand from her's.


	21. Trip

"I can't believe you're going to leave us for a whole week," David shook his head.

Joven nodded in agreement. "You're going to make me third-wheel him and Ian? I'll never forgive you for this."

"It's not like we have a choice," Mari smiled. "Besides, it's only going to be for a  _week._  It's not like we'll be leaving you guys forever."

"But it's going to feel like it is," Joven whined.

Mari grabbed the side of Joven's face. "Darling, I'm flattered that you care about us so much, but get ahold of yourself."

We all laughed as Joven's face burned red. He yanked himself out of her grasp and stepped back to David, who promptly used him as an armrest despite the fact that he wasn't really tall enough to do so naturally.

"Well, have fun," David smiled. "Promise to give us details?"  
  
"Agreed," I nodded. "They're going to have the stupidest outfits, aren't they?"

"They'll probably wear crushed-up diamonds as face powder," Mari joked. "Eyeshadow made of gold."

"Shoes made of crystal," I piped in.

"Hair dye made of emerald," David smiled. "Little girl's head will tilt to one side because of the weight of their platinum barrettes."  
  
We all laughed at that one; even Joven. Seeing as he was from the District that was in charge of fashion and wasn't denying any of our statements wasn't a very good sign. Did Jewels really wear precious gems and metals as makeup? They might as well just rip up money and throw it on themselves if they were going to do that.

Mr. Lee Yang blew his whistle, which meant that the luggage had  _finally_  been moved onboard. We were standing in front of the train, ready to go. Morning workout had been skipped so everyone could say goodbye to us, which I was thankful for. The last thing I wanted was to get on the train soaked in sweat.

Mari and I hugged David and Joven goodbye before entering the train. It was different than the one that had taken us here, what felt like an eternity ago. This one was far smaller, with rose pink leather seats surrounding small tables with cups on them. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, which probably should've impressed me but just made me worried that it would fall. A few Blues lined the walls with pitchers in hand. Despite being here for over two months, I hadn't gotten used to the idea of Blues serving me. I doubt I ever would.

Mari slid into the seat closest to us, and I took the one opposite her. Immediately, a Blue rushed forwards and filled our cups. Before she had a chance to retreat back to the wall, I thanked her. I'd barely ever seen anyone look so shocked.

After a few seconds, a bell rang, and the sliding doors leading onto the train slid closed. The train lurched forwards. Mari and I waved to David and Joven until we descended belowground, blocking them with the bleak gray of the stone tunnel's walls.

Mari folded her arms and leaned against her seat with a sigh, not once tearing her eyes away from the window. I took a sip of my drink, which turned out to be lemonade, and looked around the train.

Noah, Olivia, and Shayne were sitting together, muttering under their breaths and glancing over at us everyone once and awhile. I caught them once, and gave them a smile, making them instantly bow their heads in embarrassment. By them, I meant Shayne and Olivia. Noah was just staring out the window, his mouth drawn in a scowl. The two of us weren't exactly the best of friends, but we were close enough that he wouldn't talk about me behind his back, no matter how much it would put him in the other's good books. I respected him for that.

Wes was sitting alone. He must've stolen a hologram box from our room, because he had one open in front of him. I would've invited him to sit with us, but he looked perfectly content exactly where he was.

Now that I thought of it, I was surprised at the lack of electronics on this thing. I was under the impression that Jewels couldn't stand a second where their mind wasn't simulated. But this train was barren of them. It was refreshing. I'd been surrounded by technology for far too long. A break was far from unappreciated.

"So," Mari spoke, causing me to look at her. She'd looked away from the window. "You nervous?"

"Not really," I replied.

She laughed. "You're nervous about everything. You don't need to lie to me."  
  
"I'm not nervous," I insisted. "What is there to be nervous about? A bunch of Jewels who will judge me no matter what I do? If anything, I'm excited. I've always wanted to see where Joven grew up. From what he's said about it, it's going to be quite interesting."

"Well, lucky you," Mari shook her head. "Because I'm insanely nervous."  
  
"You?" I raised an eyebrow. "Nothing makes you nervous."  
  
"Yeah, well," she closed her eyes. "Have you thought about the fact that we're going to see our homes again?"  
  
Her words hit me like a slap in the face.

"No," I breathed. Because I hadn't. That thought hadn't even crossed my mind. Home. Home, with its gray sky and sunken-eyed people. Home, with it's humongous factories with blood-soaked machines. Was it even home anymore? Did I even want it to be?  
  
"That's what I'm nervous about," she took a shaky breath. "Jewels? I couldn't care less about them. But my District? I never want to see that place again."

"We might not go to the mines," I suggested. "Browns are also in charge of fishing and farming, right? We might go to one of those places."

"I hope so," Mari closed her eyes. "But I'm selfish for wanting that."  
  
"How are you selfish?" I asked. "From what you've told me, you've suffered so much there. It's no wonder you don't want to go back. No one can blame you for that."

I took her hands in mine and laid them on the table. When she didn't pull away, I gave them a squeeze.

"I know," Mari had her eyes trained on our entwined hands. "But I want them to see."

She nodded her head at Noah, Olivia, and Shayne. "I want them to see my people suffering. I want them to see our sunken bodies. I want them to see our scars. I want them to see the corpses we pile up in corners until the weekly corpse cart comes through. I want them to see the children coughing up black dust from all the coal they've inhaled. I want them to see it so they will _understand_  it. Because if they understand, if they care, then they might  _do_  something about it."

"But you don't want to see that," I replied sadly.

She shook her head. I saw a tear slip out of her eye. "I act so tough, you know? Like I'm proud of what I went through, because of how it hardened me. Because it did. It really did. But I never tell you about the nightmares that I have almost nightly."  
  
"Mari-" I started, but she cut me off.

She was full out crying now. I walked over to her side to comfort her. "You know which memory I relive the most? These five boys, when I was eight, decided that they liked how 'unique' my eyes were and tried to scoop them out with a spoon. Sometimes, I can still feel their hands on my wrists and legs, trying to hold me down as I thrashed. I barely managed to get out of that alive. I had to bludgeon them with a rock I found. I can still hear their screams."  
  
"It was self-defence, Mars," I replied, embracing her in a hug. "Don't feel guilty about it."

"I know I shouldn't, but I do," Mari sobbed. "They were so young. One must've been six at the youngest. He was probably only there because one of the others dragged him along. And now he's dead. I had to fall asleep with his blood on my hands."

I didn't know what to say. Instead, I rocked her slowly, trying to calm her down.

"Legally, where I'm from, you can't work until you're sixteen," I started, in an attempt to distract her. "But no one comes and enforces those laws, so the factory owners do whatever they want. So families that are really struggling, those who have a parent who can't work, usually, will send their children, sometimes as young as five, to work. So you'll have these little kids running around the factories, doing work that no human should have to do."  
  
"What use do kids have?" Mari asked, her sobbing dying down just a little. Good. It was working.

"Well, they're small, right?" I closed my eyes. "They can fit places where adults can't. So when a machine gets clogged, you grab the nearest child and make them reach into the machinery to fix it."

"But wouldn't their hand get stuck?" Mari asked.  
  
"All the time," I breathed. "And you're not allowed to turn off the machine, or you'll lose that day's wage. Once, a machine got clogged and they got a little girl to try and fix it. I was close enough to turn the machine off. Just centimetres away from the lever. But my family was really struggling that month, and I left it alone. She ended up getting her entire arm ripped off and died in minutes, screaming in agony. I could've saved her. But no. I decided that some bread was worth more than her life."  
  
"You couldn't have known that was going to happen," she'd completely stopped crying by now. "That's not your fault. That's the factory owner's fault, for not letting you turn off the machine. That's the government's fault, for letting the girl even be there. That is not your fault."  
  
"Doesn't make me feel any less guilty," I whispered.

There was silence for a few seconds as we just sat there, wrapped up in each other's arms.

"You're right," I finally said. "I want them to see. They  _have_ to see our suffering. They have to understand."

"No matter how painful it will be to us," she replied.

"Because that girl, and countless others before her, was in a sure of a hell lot more pain than it will put us through to see our past misery again," I agreed.

"And that little boy who was dragged along," Mari nodded. "And all of my people with black lungs."

"All of our people," I closed my eyes. "Every. Last. One. Of. Them. Deserves better. They deserve to live freely, to see their children live freely, to make livable wages and have good living conditions."

"And no one," Mari looked straight into my eyes. "Should feel superior or inferior to anyone else."

More silence as we stared at each other. Then, like we shared a brain, the same words slipped out of our lips, as quietly as our vocal chords could make them. "Fuck the Jewels."

She laughed, which brought a smile to my face. We untangled ourselves, but she kept her hand firmly in mine. I leaned my head on her shoulder, and we stared out the window for awhile, just enjoying each other's presence.

Then, suddenly, the train skid to a halt, throwing us back into our plush chairs. Mr. Lee Yang emerged from the door leading into what I assumed was the control room. Did this thing even have a conductor? Or was it controlled by a machine?

"Well, Elites," he had one of his rare grins plastered on his face, which made him look even more handsome than usual. Ever since Mari pointed out how hot he was to me, I couldn't shake how good looking he was out of my mind. How had I missed that before? "Welcome to the Diamond District!


	22. Diamond

The doors slid open, retracting into the metal frame of the train soundlessly. Mr. Lee Yang gestured towards them. The message was clear: get out.

After a quick shared glance, Mari and I slid out of our chairs and stood in the hall, waiting for Shayne's posse to leave, before we followed them. I was half tempted to take Mari's hand in my own for reassurance.

I wasn't scared, really. At least, I  _didn't_  think I was. But what lay outside those doors was a world I was not familiar with. One so far from the place I had grown up that the two places probably weren't even comparable. The Diamond District was probably going to be even fancier and elitist that the Training Center. Whatever the Diamond District had in store for me, it was not something I was used to.

Mari and I walked off the train and into a large, empty room. The floor was made of marble, and the three walls were jagged and embedded with pebbles. Water flowed over them, making the walls look blue. Hanging from the marble ceiling was a large chandelier that seemed to be made of gold and diamonds.

Wes, Mari, and even Shayne joined me as we gazed around the room in awe. If this was their train station, what did the rest of the District have in store for us?

A faint  _whoosh_  lured me back to the present. A short, dark-skinned woman had entered the room through a sliding door. Wickedly tall white heels adorned her feet. She was wearing a blue dress that had small gems stitched into it, making her shine every colour of the rainbow. Her sunglasses followed a similar theme.

Chandeliers, dresses, glasses... what  _didn't_  these people put diamonds on? Were they worried that if they didn't stare at one every second they'd forget where they were?

"Eugene!" the woman exclaimed as soon as she saw us. Running as fast as she could in her heels, she tackled Mr. Lee Yang in a ferocious bear hug.

So his real name was Eugene. I doubt he appreciated any of us knowing that, but with the fear he'd ingrained in all of us, I knew for a fact that none of us would ever refer to him with his first name.

"Hey, Quin," he replied, hugging the woman back. "It's been awhile."

"It's been a year is what it's been!" the woman retorted, releasing him from her grip. "You need to start visiting more. It gets so  _boring_  here without you."

"I'm busy all the time, Quin," Mr. Lee Yang rolled his eyes, "you know that."

"Busy doing what?" the woman replied. "Yelling at children?"

"Speaking of children," Mr. Lee Yang cleverly said, changing the subject. "Rember what we're here for."

"Oh, yes, right," the woman cleared her throat. "Hello, Elites! I'm Quinta Brunson, serving member of the Elite's court, and I'm going to be your guide of the Diamond District for your stay here. Any questions?"

Half of us were still looking around in amazement and the other half weren't listening. For a few seconds, it was so quiet you would've been able to hear a pin drop.

"No? Great. I hate questions. Waste of time," Quinta turned on her heels and started walking towards the door. "Follow me, everyone. Let's get this show on the road!"

She turned on her heels and started walking towards the door she'd come from. Mr. Lee Yang followed her, which shocked everyone back to reality. We all scrambled after her.

"So, our agenda is simple," Quinta explained as she took us down chrome halls. "I'm going to show you Town Square, some of the lord's mansions, the Elite Courtroom, and then we're going to go meet the Queen before you're shown to where you'll be sleeping. And we'll somehow do all of that in less than four hours, seeing as you're late."

"We're going to meet the queen?" I blurted out before thinking.

Quinta looked over her shoulder at me. "Of course we're going to meet the Queen. Who comes to the Diamond District and doesn't meet the Queen?"

I didn't have a response. Mari elbowed me in the ribs playfully and shot me a smile.

Eventually, we emerged in a giant room. I barely had enough time to take in our surroundings; three walls that were just bigger versions of the ones in the room we'd come from, a giant chandelier, a wall made entirely of glass, and at least fifty people dressed in fancy and completely unpractical clothes; before Quinta ushered us outside.

The first thing I noticed as we stepped onto the street was that none of their cars touched the ground. 

They just hovered in the air, less than a meter up. If it was more fuel efficient or just a sign of wealth, I couldn't tell you.

The second thing I noticed was how beautiful their streets were. They were impeccably clean. The pavement was as smooth as leather, and the lines were perfectly painted. Streets lamps made of silver lined the sidewalks. Behind those were small shops of differing sizes with beautiful displays in their windows of food, clothing, you named it.

I remember reading about a religion in school; Christianity. They believed in a perfect world where sinless and godly people would go when they died, called Heaven. If Heaven is real, I would imagine it looked something like this.

Mari elbowed me again, and I realized that Quinta was funnelling us onto what looked like a bus. I quickly hurried on, and the two of us filed into a seat in the back.

Neither of us said a word to each other. We were too busy looking out the window, completely engrossed in the architecture and people of the District. It was insane and beautiful at the same time.

Eventually, we stopped, and Quinta stood up from her seat at the front. "Okay, everyone, we don't have enough time for a tour, so take a quick look at Town Square."

We did. The shops here were all huge and glamorous. Large signs and large displays, showing priceless items I could never dream to afford. Some had flashing screens displaying ads. One building looked like it was made of solid gold.

What felt like seconds later, we were moving. I watched as we exited downtown and entered the residential area. Lining the streets were mansions. Well, mansions didn't really cover it. They looked like castles. Huge, with blooming gardens. It was hard to imagine that people lived in those. They looked like they were better suited for giants.

Quinta didn't have to tell us these were the Lord's mansions. We already knew.

It was hard to imagine that Noah had grown up in one of these. How had he not gotten lost in the mazes that these monsters must contain? How could he find anything? It was insane.

But then we rolled to a stop in front of the palace, and all the mansions looked like apartments.

As we exited the bus, I didn't even try to stop my jaw from dropping. Its towers reached into the clouds. Its gardens looked unreal. The walls were made of uncountable priceless materials; quartz, gold, chrome, titanium, emerald, that all somehow combined beautifully. If Town Square had looked like Heaven, then this looked like God's house itself.

"Well, let's head in, shall we?" Quinta said happily, walking down the path to the beautiful silver doors.

We followed her. Two Quartz guards opened the doors for us, and we walked inside.

The room we found ourselves in was made of marble, with beautiful paintings and tapestry covering its walls. A large emerald chandelier hung from the ceiling, and a ruby red carpet covered the floor. Two large staircases hugged the walls, leading to a balcony that had five doors on it. Purples, the highest colour rank in charge of serving Lords and Royals, scrambled around the room.

Quinta led us up the stairs and through one of the doors into another magnificent room. That room led to another, then another, each one more beautiful than the last. It got to the point where I could barely comprehend it.

Suddenly, I understood why Olivia was the spoiled, rotten brat she was. When you lived in a place like this, with your every want and need met for you, how could you not view everything and everyone as inferior? I shuddered to think about who I would have been if I had grown up here.

I'd probably have thought of myself as a God.

Eventually, we ended up in a large room. Several circular tables with hollow centers covered the floor. The largest one had the second largest one inside it, and so on until they reached the smallest. In the middle was a podium. The walls were black screens, the floor and ceiling marble.

Quinta turned to face us. "Welcome, Elites, to the Elite Courtroom!"

Mari rested her hands on the backboard of one of the chairs. "This is where we'll be working?"  
  
"Yes," Quinta replied with a nod. "Fancy, isn't it? I remember when I first saw it, back when I was your age. Do you remember that day, Eugene?"

Mr. Lee Yang smiled. "Of course I do."

Quinta sighed. "How daunting it had been, as two Reds. I can't imagine what it must be to you, as a Brown."

Mari didn't reply as she looked around the room. I stood next to her, and we both observed in silence.

It was hard to believe that I'd be working here someday. That I'd sit in one of these chairs. That I'd stand at that podium and give a speech to a room full of the smartest people in Escana. That I'd watch whatever slideshow or video or who knows what those screens would show.

"This is crazy," Wes muttered from his spot a few feet from us. I had to agree.

After a few more minutes, Quinta cleared her throat. "Well Elites, we can't keep the Queen waiting, so let's get a move on!"

We followed her back the way we came, through the first room, and down the stairs. She led us through another door, and through countless more.

Soon, we found ourselves in the largest room yet. The ceiling was kept up by several Roman columns. Paintings covered the ceilings, displaying men and women with crowns and the several actions they did. The walls were covered in windows that let in streams of sunlight. A simple red carpet lying on the marble floor led up the stars of a raised platform. On that platform were two thrones; one made of diamond, one of gold. They both had red cushioning, and the diamond one was taller than the gold. And sitting on the diamond one was the Queen herself.

She looked like an older version of Olivia. Her hair reached her shoulders, and she had a kind face. A gold crown adorned her head, displaying five jewels; a diamond, an emerald, a ruby, a pearl, and a smooth quartz stone. She wore a white dress with gold and silver lining. In her hand was a silver sceptre with a giant pearl at the top of it.

At the sight of us, she stood up and smiled. "Elites! Welcome to my home!"

She walked down the red carpet and stopped in front of us. I didn't know if it was her clothes, crown, or what, but something about her just radiated power and strength. She was intimidating and yet somehow looked like someone you could be friends with at the same time. It was crazy.

We had all fanned out naturally, which she took advantage of. Olivia was at the end of the line to the left, so she started there.

She caressed Olivia's cheek and kissed her forehead. "My heir, I have such big dreams for you, and I know you will achieve them."

Next was Noah, who got his own forehead kiss. "Noah, you're the smartest boy I've ever met. You're going to make a great Lord."

Then Shayne. I'd never seen Shayne look intimidated, but he did now. At that point, I'd figured out that she was kissing everyone's foreheads. "You look strong, Shayne. You will need that."

Next was Wes. "As a quartz, you know how to protect. Now you must protect the entire nation"

Then it was me. Her hand was smooth, her lips soft. She smiled at me. "Matthew. You are full of potential. I have no doubt that you will make your parents and people proud."

Finally, there was Mari. "Mari. You are so strong. The changes you will make are ones that our nation has needed for a long time."

Then she stepped back, and gave us all one last smile. "Elites, I look forward to having you in my court."

With those words, she walked back to her throne. I found it hard to believe that she and Olivia were related. She was just too nice.

We all followed Quinta out of the room, and into the bus. Mari and I didn't say a word to each other. I didn't even look out the window this time; I was too engrossed in my thoughts.

In what felt like no time at all, we stopped in front of a hotel. Quinta gave me a key with a number on it. I climbed up the stairs to the third floor and found it, quickly entered, and threw myself at the bed.

I was too tired to even take in the extravagance of my room.


	23. Emerald

It's perfectly quiet when I wake up. The curtains bloke out the sunlight. For the first time in my life, I feel completely refreshed.

A new outfit lied on my bedside table. Jeans and a button-up shirt. After months of the soft material of the Elite outfit, it feels rough.

I quickly get dressed and pull open the curtains. The Diamond District is bustling underneath me. Beautiful people in beautiful outfits rushing to beautiful buildings with beautiful items in their hands. I think of the downtown of my home, and suddenly feel sick. I pull the curtains closed.

Something buzzes against my wrist. I look down at my watch. It's face displays a simple message; _go to the first floor._

The door to my room opens as I step to, sliding into the wall. The hallway is empty and quiet. I can hear my footsteps as I walk across the carpeted floor to the elevator.

"How long has it been?"

I freeze and scan the hallway. There's no one there. What was that? 

"Seven months," a familiar voice says.  _Mr. Lee Yang._

A door is cracked open slightly ahead of me. I creep up to it and peer inside. Mr. Lee Yang is leaning against a wall, while Quinta looks at him while sitting on the bed.

"That's good," she says quietly. 

"No, it isn't," Mr. Lee Yang scoffs. "It should be a year."

"It  _used_ to be every night," Quinta stands up. "You've improved. A lot."

Mr. Lee Yang shakes his head. "I know where you're going with this, Quin. I'm not coming back."

"Why not?" she demanded. "It's been five years, Eugene. We both know you're not enjoying your job as a teacher. You were  _happy_  here!"

"Yeah, I was," Mr. Lee Yang sounded angry. "Right up until I almost drunk myself to death. I can't risk that happening again, Quinta."

"Eugene-" Quinta started.

"No," he replied sternly. "Now, if you excuse me, I have a train to catch."

I processed his words right in time to jump out of the doorway and run to the stairs. I couldn't risk having him see me in the elevator. He might get suspicious.

Guilt coursed through me as I ran. I shouldn't have done that. It was a complete invasion of privacy. I doubted that Mr. Lee Yang would appreciate me knowing he was an alcoholic. Who would?

In no time at all, I reached the check-in room, where all of the Elites were gathered. I stopped at Mari's side and quickly regained my breath. Mr. Lee Yang was checking us out.

"What took you so long?" Mari asked me, raising her eyebrow.

"Slept in late," I lied. The least I could do was keep Mr. Lee Yang's secret to myself.

Mari didn't look like she believed me, but before she could question me, Mr. Lee Yang walked out the front door, and we all scrambled to follow him.

We found ourselves back on the bus. That took us back to the train station, which Mr. Lee Yang took us through till we were back at the room we'd arrived in. The train was waiting for us, and he led us in. 

The train ride was completely uneventful. Wes joined us at our seat this time, and the three of us played some multiplayer games on his hologram machine. Overall, it was a fun time.

Then the train rolled to a stop. Wes shoved the machine in his pocket, and we exited the train.

Compared to the train station in the Diamond District, this was nothing. The floor and ceiling were made of wood, and the walls were covered with large screens. They all displayed different programs; the left had a woman singing, the center had a woman and a man playing the violin, and the right had a man dancing. I couldn't hear anything, but I could tell that all four of them were incredibly talented, just from watching.

"I heard that Emerald citizens have little earpieces," Wes whispered to us, completely unprovoked, "that lets them pick screens so they can hear them."

"How do you know that?" Mari asked.

Wes shrugged. "I like studying other ranks."

As I stared at the violinists, I wished I had a pair of those earpieces. It felt rude to leave them on silent.

I heard the sound of a door opening, and noticed a short woman with curly hair enter the room. She was wearing casual clothes and was holding a clipboard. A wire attached to what I assumed was an earpiece was draped over her shoulder.

"You're the Elites, right?" she asked.

"Of course," Mr. Lee Yang furrowed his eyebrows. "Where's Marzia?"

"Sick," the woman replied as she scribbled something down on her clipboard. "I'm filling in for her. Name's Sara. Sara Rubin. Now, let's go."

As she turned to face the door, I noticed something on her bracelet. Against the emerald-green was a number.  _3005._ Strange.

She led us down a few hallways, all identical. The walls were always covered in screens, so many that I could barely notice what they were displaying before we passed them. I spotted more singers, musicians, dancers, comedians, actors, athletes. It was a blur of information.

Eventually, we emerged into a large room. Its walls were practically devoid of screens and were painted white, which was a relief at this point. There was only one, positioned on top of what I assumed was the entrance. It displayed names and numbers. I wanted to read it, but I didn't have enough time until we were led outside and into another bus, this one with wheels.

The fashion here was incredibly diverse. Most people wore casual clothes; shirts and jeans, simple dresses, skirts, shorts and tank tops. But then came along occasional person dressed in a pristine shirt or an extravagant dress. People must have freedom here to dress however they liked. 

I imagined what it would have been like to grow up with that luxury. To be able to open your closet and have multiple clothing items to pick from. It felt like a fantasy.

The buildings here were simpler. Made of concrete usually, and painted an array of colours. They were quite pretty to look at if you didn't pay attention to the screens. Every building had at least five attached to their walls. I spotted one that showed the same singer I saw at the train station.

After ten minutes of driving, we arrived at what I assumed was Town Square. Sara led us out of the bus and onto the streets, which weren't nearly as smooth as the ones in the Diamond District. We blended in perfectly with our casual clothing.

"So, this is Town Square," Sara confirmed my theory. "The best shops are here, but most importantly, this is where the list is."

She pointed behind us. I turned and saw this biggest screen in my life.

It was at least 300 meters tall. A metal wall supported it. On each side were what looked like glass elevators, which brought people up and down quicker than I could blink. We were too far away to see what was on it, but you could tell it was important.

"I assume most of you don't know what it is, so I'll explain," we all turned back to look at Sara. "It's called the list. On it, you will find the name of every Emerald in the nation. Last time I checked, there were 500,000 of us. All ranked by order of popularity. The higher up you are, the better. The first one thousand are  _our_  Elites; the best of the best, called the A-list. Everyone knows their names. The next two thousand are the B-list celebrities. The next three are C-list. Next four are D-list. Next five are E-list, and so on."

She paused for breath. "It's everything to us. Your spot decides your wealth, your importance, your place in society. The lower you are, the worst your life is. People spend their entire lives trying to climb the list."

Then she cleared her throat. "So let's go have a look, shall we?"

We walked up to the screen. At our level were the 475-500,000. The letters next to their names had nine X's next to them.

Maybe it wouldn't be so great to live here after all. What would it be like, to be a nine-X? To be poor, to spend your entire life trying to climb the list of popularity, an impossible task? I'd bet that whatever your parents were born as, that would be what you were. And was that really different from where I'm from?

No, it must be. There was no way an Emerald could live like I lived. Their lives might be hard at the bottom, but they'd still be incredibly easy compared to the one I'd lived. There was no reason to delude myself.

"Excuse me, but where is Ian Hecox on the list?" I heard Mari ask Sara from behind me.

"He was #988, but he's jumped to #50 after becoming an Elite. Keith leak Jr. went from #500 to #30," Sara replied.

"Thanks," Mari replied, before walking up to me and resting her elbow on my shoulder. We watched together as names jumped up and down.

I probably could've watched all day. Almost everything in the Jewel's world seemed foreign and strange to me, but I could understand this. Suffering with very little hope. Sounds like home.

"Time to go, Elites!" I heard Sara call. We all turned and followed her back onto the bus. I watched the list disappear behind us as we exited Town Square.

Next on the tour was the residential area. At the start were giant mansions, but after seven blocks, they got smaller. That turned into a trend; every seven blocks or so, the mansions would get smaller and smaller, until they were more like large houses, then houses, then small houses, than tiny houses, then tiny houses that looked like they were going to fall apart any second. There was definitely a class divide here, and it showed.

We looped around a bend, and then the system repeated itself in reverse as the houses grew. I couldn't tear my eyes away.

Eventually, we reached what looked like a hotel. It wasn't nearly as fancy as the one in the Diamond District was, but it was far from shabby.

Sara stood up as the bus rolled to a stop. "This is where I say goodbye, Elites. Good luck in life."

We all mumbled a goodbye, but let's be honest; none of us really cared too much. After she got off, Mr. Lee Yang followed suit, and we all scrambled out.

He led us into the hotel and started talking to a Blue behind the check-in counter. More screens covered the walls. Mari and I stood next to each other as we waited.

"So," she said, pulling on her checkered shirt. "That was... interesting."

"Yeah," I agreed. "It was."

"I thought that all of the Jewel Districts would be like the Diamond one, you know?" she asked. "I didn't expect this."

"Me neither," I admitted.

"It's strange to think about," she muttered, "the systems so broken that even the Jewels aren't happy. Imagine that."

"Well," I pointed out, "some of them are."

She smiled. "Oh, shut up."

Before I could reply, Mr. Lee Yang walked up to us and handed each of us a key. The two of us walked into the elevator and rode up to my floor before hugging each other goodnight. I watched as the doors closed before heading to my room and opening the door.

It was a simple room, with a bed, a T.V, a bathroom, and a desk. I sat on the bed and turned on the T.V. It was on mute, and showed the same violinists from the train station, expertly moving their fingers across their instruments and sliding their bows across the strings.

I took them off mute.


	24. Ruby

I'd already been awake for an hour, watching television, by the time my watch buzzed. The doors here were manual, and when I pushed mine open, I almost smacked Olivia in the face as she walked down the hall. That was a fun conversation.

Mari was staying a couple floors above me, so we met up on the elevator.

"Morning," I greeted.

"Morning," she responded. "You ready for the day?"

"Yeah," I yawned. "You?"

"Well, seeing as I don't know what to expect, I can't say for certain, but I'm as ready as I'm going to get," she replied with a smile.

I lightly slapped her arm. "Don't be a smartass."  
  
"Hey, I'm an Elite," she argued. "We're all smartasses, really."

"Oh, shut up," I said, rolling my eyes. "What do you think the Ruby District will be like?"

"Well, they're in charge of business, so I'd imagine there'd be a lot of  _suits_  involved," she smirked. 

I laughed as the elevator doors opened. The rest of the Elites, minus Wes, were waiting for us. Mari and I hung out against the back wall as we waited, talking about our expectations for the day. Wes arrived a few minutes later.

Mr. Lee Yang made his way to the door without a word to us, which we all knew at this point was his way of leading us out. Our bus was waiting for us outside, it's yellow paint glittering in the sunlight.

Mari and I made our way to our usual back-of-the-bus seat and continued our discussion. It felt like no time had passed at all when we arrived at the train station.

There were far fewer people there than yesterday, which wasn't surprising. We'd arrived pretty late last time, during what I assumed was their rush hour. What few people were there didn't seem to be in any rush, and were mostly looking at their phones or hologram machines. Some were doing work, but most of them seemed to be playing games or watching videos.

Mr. Lee Yang led us down the same hallway as yesterday, and we found ourselves in the same room we'd arrived in. The train hadn't arrived yet, and, without the vehicle blocking it, I noticed that the wall behind it was yet another screen. It showed a female stand-up comedian, her platinum-blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, leaning against a microphone stand. She was rather tall, and had pretty grey eyes. Her arms were surprisingly muscular, almost mirroring Mari's. God knows how she got them.

Mari had looked it up last night. Apparently, every time someone adjusted their earpiece to listen to your screen, you went up on the list. That was why they were everywhere; people had to pay to be put on them, so the government earned a _lot_  of money off of them.

I couldn't imagine how horrible it must be for the low-ranking people. To see all those people on those screens. People who were far more successful than you ever would be. Most of them probably dreamed about appearing on one someday, as they listened to people performing the same talent that they possessed.

After a few minutes, they train rolled in, and we piled on. I didn't talk much with Wes and Mari, instead choosing to look out the window. Surrounding the Emerald District we'd visited were soaring mountains that we had to navigate around. After that was a forest, sprinkled with rivers. Every once in a while I'd see another District, though if it were an Emerald one or something else, I couldn't tell you. All I knew for sure that it definitely wasn't a Yellow one.

The ride to the Ruby District only lasted thirty minutes, tops. I barely had enough time to catch a glimpse of the city before we went underground. The view got pretty damn boring after that. Compared to nature, these dark, wet, tunnels were nothing but an eyesore.

Soon, we finally rolled to a stop. Mr. Lee Yang led us out, and we found ourselves in the dullest room yet.

The walls were grey, the ceiling and floors white. A few ceiling lights illuminated the room, and a couple painting of flowers and people, mainly women, hung on the walls. Not scrappy by any means, especially compared to the ones back home, but far from the beauty of the Diamond District or the stimulation of the Emerald District. The simplicity was refreshing.

A man was already waiting for us. He wore a simple black suit and black sunglasses. His hair was sideswept and dirty blonde, and his eyes were brown. His eyebrows were thick and his chin was clean-shaven. A smile was plastered on his lips, and he was leaning against the wall.

"Hey, hey, hey!" he kicked off the wall the second we were all of the train. "Welcome to the Ruby District! nice to see you again, Gene!"

He raised his hand for a fistbump. Mr. Lee Yang didn't move a muscle. He quickly saved himself by swiping his hand through his hair. 

"Well," he chuckled. "I'm Cody, everyone, and I'll be your tour guide today! I hope you all like identical buildings, cause that's all we really have to show. So let's get a move on!"

He gave us all a thumbs-up and headed back down the hallway. Mari and I glanced at each other before following.

"He seems... fun," she said slowly as we walked.

I chuckled. "Yeah, he does."

The hallways were just as bland as the arrival room, just without the paintings. It was a short walk before we arrived at the central area of the train station.

It was a big room. The ceiling was high, making it look larger than it probably was. Doors littered the walls, all of them with a screen above them, displaying the locations they went to. Men and women in suits similar if not identical to Cody's rushed around, carrying briefcases. I watched as one man fell over in his rush.

Cody led us outside. The bus lying ahead of us was practically identical to the last one; big, yellow with black stripes, and large black wheels. But there was one major difference; the windows were tinted black.

As we all got on the bus, I asked Cody about the windows. He laughed. "Yeah, it's because they're bulletproof." 

"Why?" Mari asked simply.

"We have a really big problem with assassinations round here," Cody replied with a shrug. "Business partners killing business partners, kids killing their parents to inherit their companies, that sort of thing. You won't find a single car 'round here that has normal windows."

"Oh," was all I could say. Then I got on the bus.

We climbed into our usual seat, and then the bus took off.

"It seems I was right," Mari said as the two of us looked out the window, not bothering to specify what she was right about. We both knew. I nodded in agreement.

Because there were  _so many_  suits here.

It was the most striking thing about the streets. Everyone, and I mean _everyone,_  was wearing a suit. The people walking down the street, the people eating in cafes, the people getting in their cars; everyone. It was a sea of black and white. Regardless of sex or age. I even saw a girl who couldn't be any more than five wearing a small one.

"It's like I'm home again," I muttered. Everyone wearing the exact same outfit? That was something I was far from unfamiliar with.

The other right-off-the-bat similarity to home I noticed were the buildings. In the section of town we were in, they looked pretty similar to the ones downtown back home. A little more structurally sound, sure, but similar. They were grey and boring, their only decorations being store signs, windows, and the occasional canopy for tables.

Then we rolled into what I assumed was the richer part of town, and the similarities in architecture stopped.

The towers here were  _huge._  They seemed to scrape the sky. Windows covered their walls, and I could see thousands of people inside, working on computers at desks in rows. Everywhere I turned my head, there were more towers. You couldn't possibly count them.

Minutes after we entered that part of town, the bus stopped. We all crowded off the bus.

Cody cleared his throat. "Welcome to Downtown, everyone! This is where the biggest corporations have their base of operations. Almost everyone who lives here is employed in one of these bad boys."

He pointed at the building closest to us, which was big even compared to the towers surrounding it. "Like that one there, for example. The headquarters of Hologram Tech. Probably the biggest company in Escana at the moment. Over ten thousand people work in that building alone."

Hologram Tech. His words rang in my ears.

That had been the company I'd worked for. The company I'd spent hours slaving away for, putting my safety on the line, just to earn scraps. That was the company responsible for so much of the pain I'd witnessed. And here they were, their employees safely sitting behind computers, making far more money than I could dream of, reaping all of the rewards of our hard, grueling labour.

I'd always known that this was the way it was. Every Yellow did. But seeing it personified, seeing all those office employees, made it real.

My brother was still working for them. Was he even still alive? Had these  _Rubies_ killed him? I didn't know. I had no way of knowing.

Pamela worked for them too. We had been side-by-side on the assembly line. We used to sing factory songs together. She had the most beautiful voice. Once, she told me that the reason she kept her hair short was to stop it from getting caught in any machinery. Had they sent her to an early grave?

I wanted to scream. I wanted to throw a rock through their windows, to burst in and throw all their computers at their walls. To find their CEO, who was probably busy counting the cash he got from being the _biggest_  company in Escana, money he hadn't earned, and choke him with his wads of green.

Instead, I turned to Mari. "That's the company I worked for."

"Oh," was her response. "Screw them, then."

Those words were oddly comforting. Then again, this was Mari. Long, touching, heartfelt monologues weren't exactly her thing. But then again, she could say anything and it would put me at ease.

Cody took us around, showing us more companies and what they produced. Furniture, food, candy, books, jewels, toiletries, toys, kitchenware, and so many others. I was surprised he managed to remember them all.

I wondered how these tour guides were produced. Was there a special school or program for them? Did rich people regularly go on multiple-district or rank trips, or was this a special yearly occasion just for us?

Maybe they just grabbed random people off the street and tell them to show people around. Give them a little cash as a reward. The probability seemed pretty small. But then there was Cody. He struck me as a lot of things, but a professional tour-guide wasn't one of them.

"And that's pretty much it," Cody said when we arrived at the same spot we'd started at. "Now, if you excuse me, I need to get the Hell home before my girlfriend kills me. Adios!"

Then he was off, and we were all getting back on the bus.

"So," Mari said as we sat down. "I guess that's it."

"Yeah," I scratched the back of my neck. "So I guess being a Ruby means wearing suits and sitting in front of computers."

To anyone else,  it would probably sound boring. Unappealing. Torturous, even, to the  _really_ privileged ones. But when I thought of the place I'd grown up in and compared the two...

Mari smiled. "Sounds like Heaven."

I nodded in agreement.


	25. Pearl

The wardrobe in my hotel room was insane.

I'd gotten a text on my watch telling me to pick out an outfit, so I'd made my way to the closet. Despite knowing that we were going to be visiting a Pearl District today, I hadn't made the connection that the clothes might be a bit... extreme. I'd been expecting casual clothes.

What a mistake that had been.

There were rows upon rows of clothes inside, each one crazier than the last. Shirts that were cut across the shoulder, leaving half of your chest exposed. Pink suits that were covered in glitter. A few dresses that were intentionally cut for men. Fluffy scarves. If you could imagine it, it was here, and somehow even more extreme than you'd imagined.

It was hard, but I ended up finding something that was sort of normal; a black suit. Except for the fact that half of it was made out of leather and the other half silk that seemed to change colour every few seconds. Not exactly my style, but it was the best I could do.

The walk down to the main hall was the most awkward one of my life. Wearing this outfit made me feel a lot of things, but confidence wasn't one of them.

There was only one other person there; Shayne. He was wearing a simple, sparkling pink suit. It looked pretty good on him, and he looked pretty confident wearing it, which I envied. I would never be able to wear that. Back home, there was so much social pressure to appear as masculine as humanly possible that I'd been terrified to do anything remotely feminine. I hadn't gotten over it in my time away, and I doubted that I ever would.

The next one to show up was Wes, wearing the exact same outfit as me and looking awkward as Hell. We gave each other a small, knowing smile.

Then Mari showed up. She was wearing a rainbow dress, and didn't look happy about it. She'd tried to cover it with a leather jacket with spikes, but it hadn't quite worked. Along with the dress she had on black tights and combat boots.

"I hate this," she mumbled as she walked up to me. I put my hand on her shoulder in reassurance.

"I take it they didn't have any shirts in your closet?" I asked.

She grimaced. "Not even a tank top."

Mr. Lee Yang showed up next, wearing a simple black suit. Wes, Mari, and I shot him a glare of jealousy. I would've worn the same suit as yesterday, but the cleaning staff had picked it off the floor last night while I was asleep.

Finally, about ten minutes after Mr. Lee Yang had arrived, Olivia and Noah decided to show up.

They looked fantastic. Olivia was wearing a blue dress covered in what looked like feathers and had a pearl necklace on. She wore tall blue heels that glittered. Somewhere, she'd found makeup, and had on wicked light-blue eyeshadow along with blue lipstick that somehow looked natural on her.

Noah had taken a similar route. His makeup was identical to her's, except red. Wicked red stilettoes that looked like they could be used to kill a man with adorned his feet, which you could see through the cut in his floor-length red ballgown. A leather belt was wrapped around his waist.

And I thought  _Shayne_  had confidence.

We got a lot of looks from people on the streets as we got on our bus. Their eyes made my skin crawl. When we got to the train station, I couldn't get on the train fast enough.

Wes, Mari and I spent the entire ride in silence. I didn't even bother to look out the window. The Pearl District seemed daunting now. If we were expected to look like this, then I couldn't even begin to imagine what Pearl citizens looked like.

Joven never talked about his home. Ever. As I thought about it, I couldn't imagine a single instance where he did, even if everyone else was. I wondered why. If I had lived in a place where everyone looked like walking paint pallets, you wouldn't be able to get me to shut up about it.

It didn't take us long to arrive. The room we arrived in was pretty bland; white walls with navy blue zig-zag stripes. Well, it was bland until the wall  _moved._

A woman seemed to have been standing against the wall. Her dress, shoes, and face were all the exact same colour and design as the wall. It kind of hurt my head to look at her.

"Welcome!" she raised her hands. "To the Pearl District!"

Then she started laughing. Mari and I exchanged a look of worry.

So, right of the bat, we had a woman blending into a wall. We were off to a great start.

"Must you do this every year, Jenna?" Eugene asked.

"Yes," Jenna replied, pulling off what looked like a swimmer's cap and letting her brown hair fall over her shoulders. The bottoms were dyed purple. "I do."

She turned to us. "Hello. I'm your tour guide, Jenna. If you'd follow me, please, we'll get this show on the road."

We all followed her out of the room, down a hallway, and into the main train station, which was pretty simple. What was not simple, however, were the people.

The people looked incredible. Big plushy dresses, crazy suits, skirts so long they trailed for at least a meter after their wearer, you name it. Big, colourful wigs rested on their heads. They wore so much makeup you couldn't tell where the skin ended and the powder began. There were too many outfits to take in. But the most striking thing about these people was how _inhuman_  they looked. They looked like they were made out of plastic.

A bus was waiting for us outside. The drive to whatever our destination was didn't last long, and soon, we found ourselves standing in front of a large building, painted white. It's windows displayed more outfits, wigs, shoes, and makeup than I could count.

"This is what we call the Main Mall," Jenna described. "It's the best shopping mall in the entire nation for clothes. Even Diamonds come here, which sucks, because it makes the prices higher. Let's go in."

She turned, and we all followed her inside. We found ourselves in a large room, with a high ceiling made of glass, walls painted white, and a marble floor. Lining the floor were doors, nestled between display cases with flashy signs above them. In the middle of the wall was a long balcony that wrapped around the entire room, which had its own set of stores. A fountain rested in the middle of the room, surrounded by stairs that seemed to move that led up to the balconies.

Every square inch of the floor was covered with people. People rushing from store to store, people trying to get others to buy things, people manning kiosks, people shopping, like a rainbow sea.

It was a lot to take in.

"Listen up!" Jenna demanded after we were all inside. "You've all been given one thousand units. Your watches are your wallets. For the next three hours, you have time to shop. Buy as much as you want, as long as you stay in budget. For your safety, form groups of three. Any questions? None? Good! Now go!"

Olivia, Noah, and Shayne took off. Noah seemed to actually enjoy spending time with them, which was strange. I guess they all had a mutual love of fashion that was tying them together. At least, that was the only explanation I could think of.

"So," Wes said as he walked up to us, "this is going to be..."  
  
"An experience," Mari finished, crossing her arms.

"Shall we get started?" I asked.

Mari rolled her eyes. "What else are we going to do?"  
  
No one could argue with that impeccable logic, so we started our journey. All of the stores looked similar. Crazy clothes and wigs in their display cases, bright signs with the same fonts. It was strange. All of the outfits looked insane to me, but when you combined them all together like this, they looked almost... normal. Usual, at least.

"They must spend so much effort trying to out-crazy one another," I whispered to Wes and Mari. "To show off the fact that they're more fashionable."

"Oh, definitely," Wes agreed. 

"If someone really wanted to make a statement here," Mari sighed, "they should just wear jeans."

Eventually, Wes pointed out a shop, and we decided to go in. There was nothing unique about it. I assumed that Wes had just gotten bored with walking around.

Inside was exactly how I'd suspected. More white walls, covered in racks. Resting on them were purses, wigs, makeup kits, hairbrushes, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings, watches, hair clips, you name it. Covering the floor were circular metal racks that held every possible thing you could make out of cloth that could be worn.

The three of us navigated our way through the store, looking at the things we knew we were supposed to, but not really caring. Maybe it was my upbringing, but all these things seemed frivolous to me. Useless. Pieces of plastic, metal and jewel with price tags that could feed my family for a week. Whenever I held anything, I felt guilty. I couldn't imagine wearing any of it.

"Let's go," Mari muttered. I nodded in agreement, and Wes didn't say a word against her. When I looked at him, I noticed a look of disgust in his eyes. He was A Quartz, I remembered. The lowest Jewel. How bad were things there?  
  
I would find out tomorrow, I suppose.

Once we were back in the main area of the mall, we stood awkwardly. What were we going to do for the next two hours? Just stand here?

"Hey, you three!" we turned to see a black-haired man standing at a kiosk. "You look like you could lose a few pounds!"  
  
"What?" I asked, not really processing his words.

"You heard me," the man circled me like a hawk. "You really need to lose the flab and replace it with some muscle. We've got a pill that could help you with that."

I stared at him for a few seconds in shock. I'd been eating very well recently, especially compared to my diet at home, but I'd only recently gained enough weight to make it so you couldn't see my ribs through my skin at all. And this guy was telling me to lose that? To go back to starving myself and looking sickly?

How was I supposed to answer to that?  
  
"Yeah, fuck off," Mari spat at him, grabbing my wrist and wrenching me away. She dragged me to the corner of the mall, under a plastic tree. Wes followed.

"What was that?" I said after I got over my shock.

Mari shook her head. "I don't know."  
  
"It's part of their beauty standards," Wes replied. "I've read about it. Everyone's expected to be super skinny; except for men. But only if that extra body weight is muscle. And if you don't strive to look like that, you're shamed."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Mari said angrily.  
  
"It's their hierarchy," Wes replied. "Everywhere else, you're measured by how much money is in your wallet. Here, it's by how much money you've put in your body."

I thought of home. Of everyone's thin faces and bodies. The idea that there were people out there who actively strived to look like that terrified me. I would give anything in the world to never, ever look like that again.

We spent the next two hours sitting under the tree in silence, until our watches buzzed and we made our way back to the door we'd come through. Jenna led us back into the bus, and Mari and I climbed to the back.

I hadn't noticed them so much on the ride here, but I did now. Ads on billboards, displaying super skinny women and super muscular men, selling diet pills and gym memberships.  _Become a better you!_

"How did Joven grow up here?" I asked Mari.

"I don't know," she replied. "If I had grown up in a place like this, constantly told that I was worthless because my body didn't look a certain way... I'd probably hate myself."

"Maybe he does," I said softly.

She was quiet for a few seconds. "We'll have to change that, then."

With a reassuring smile, she slipped her hand in mine. We spent the rest of the trip in silence.


	26. Quartz

I wake up far too early the next morning. It soon becomes obvious that I'm not going to fall asleep, so I turn on the T.V. Nothings on but fashion shows and a bunch of talk shows gossiping about people I've never heard about before in my life and don't care about. Eventually, I just turn it off and stare at the black screen. A hologram box lies on my bedrest, but I don't touch it.

A cleaning woman comes in at some point with a change of clothes. It's the usual Elite outfit. On her way out, she looks at me like I'm crazy. I don't blame her.

I quickly get changed. Yesterday's outfit is draped over a chair. I grab it, open the window, and chuck it out. It was very satisfying, watching it float through the air and pull the wig off the women it landed on. I shut the window with a smile.

An hour or so later, which I spent looking out the window, head rested in my arms, my watch buzzes. No one else joins me in the hallway or the elevator. As I ride down the floors, an annoying song plays. I find myself wanting to punch the speaker.

The check-in room is empty. There are some brochures in a case against one of the walls, and I busy myself with looking at them. A few minutes later, Mari and Wes join me, before we make our way to the bus.

The drive to the train station is short, the walk to the train even shorter. Jenna is working behind a ticket station and waves at us. Mari and I are the only ones who wave back.

Everyone files on the train, and soon, we're off. Wes, Mari, and I sit in silence for a few minutes.

"So," I asked awkwardly. "Are you ready to see your home?"  
  
"My District was the poorest one," Wes replied. "We're definitely not going there. We'll probably be going to Boze's."  
  
"Ah," I respond. "But, still, it won't be  _that_  different."

"No," Wes sighed. "It won't be."

The rest of the trip was spent in complete silence. I looked out the window, but all I could see were green pastures, which got incredibly boring after awhile. Eventually, I ended up staring at Mari's reflection in the glass. It didn't look as pretty as the original, but it was enough. She was far more beautiful than any grassland.

After an hour, we arrived at our destination. Everyone clamoured out of the train.

We found ourselves in a boring grey room. Grey ceilings, grey walls, grey floor. It was the dullest room I'd ever been in, and that was _counting_  the ones back home. Shayne, Olivia, and Noah looked genuinely disturbed.

A man walked through the door a few seconds after we arrived. He had short black hair and glasses and was wearing a grey tracksuit.

"Are these the Elites?" he asked Mr. Lee Yang. His voice had a tint of nasalness to it, but it wasn't unpleasant.

"Yes," Mr. Lee Yang replied.

"Good," the man turned to us. "Hello, Elites. I'm Mark Fischbach of barracks five, and I'll be your tour guide today."

His voice was completely monotone. Every other tour guide had at least some aspect of personality to them, but this guy was just... boring. He had a joyful face, though. There was no way this wasn't an act.

"Follow me," he said, and we did.

The halls were painted the same shade of grey as the room we'd come from, and the main room was as well. There were very few people there. The few that were had the exact same posture; upright, shoulders square, face hard. All of them wore the exact same clothes as Mark. None of them even glanced at us.

If there was one word that could describe the atmosphere of this place, it was  _hostile._

Mark led us outside. Unlike the other four times, there was no bus waiting for us. All that lay ahead of us was a blank road.

"We're walking," Mr. Lee Yang explained. Mark nodded and started walking down the sidewalk, and we had no choice but to follow.

The streets were pretty bare. There were streetlights, and the occasional car on the road, most of them military trucks. We even saw a tank at one point.

Their buildings were simple and baren. They were made of concrete and didn't have windows. Simple signs hung over their doors; "food", "clothes", "weapons".

The farther we walked, the more people appeared, all walking in the same stiff way as the people in the train station. Most of them were holding weapons, and walked in packs of two to eight.

Mark stopped in front of a row of buildings, all made of concrete and stamped with a number. When you looked in the cracks between the buildings, you could see another row behind them. I wondered how far they went.

"These are the barracks," Mark explained in his perfectly monotone voice. "This is where our people sleep. You are given seven other people in your barrack, and the eight of you do everything together. Your barrack number more important than your family name, because your barrack-mates are more of a family to you then your biological one ever was or will be."

I noticed Wes clench his fists.

Mark gave us some time to look at the barracks, but let's be honest; there wasn't much to look at. Then he started walking, much to the annoyment of Olivia, who was obviously exhausted. I guess the perfect princess wasn't used to having to do anything herself.

We walked for another ten minutes before reaching our next destination. It was a training ground, similar to our exercise area back at the Training Center. Around a hundred men and women were running around the track, lifting weights, and climbing structures. The differences, however, were the fact that there was a shooting range and a wrestling area. The wrestling area was the most interesting to watch, as the fighters didn't show any sign of restraint.

"This is the high-level training ground," Mark explained. "For those who have already gone through training and just need to make sure they're in shape."

I imagined growing up here. Going to this training ground with my barrack-mates, fighting and shooting and running, pushing my body to the breaking point every day before being shipped off to guard some door somewhere.

A few minutes later, Mark was leading us away again. We did not arrive at our next destination within ten minutes this time. In fact, it took us an hour to get there.

It was amazing how barren this place was. In every place we'd been in, and back home even, the streets had been packed with buildings, utilizing every centimetre of space. Here, however, you could walk down the road for a few miles before hitting a building. 

Everyone seemed to walk here. The entire time, I never saw a single person enter a truck. They just walked, perfectly alert. Maybe it was to keep up fitness; maybe it was to keep everyone in line. Or maybe it was a mix of both.

Eventually, Mar stopped in front of a big building. It looked identical to all the other buildings if they had taken steroids. Painted over the door in big blocky letters was "RAISING CENTER."

"This is where parents drop off their newborns to be raised," Mark explained. "For the first fifteen years of any soldier's life is spent here, where they learn proper posture, behaviour, fitness, and schedule. You never shake the lessons you learn here. No matter how much you want to."

There was sadness in his voice near the end. Wes was practically shaking behind me. I could hear him taking deep breaths, trying to calm himself down.

I stared at the building in horror. There was no way that parents were giving up their children willingly to this place. They must be forced to. And from the way Mark described it, the "Raising Center" was far from a fun place. I could only imagine what cruel techniques must be used to break a child's spirits and make them the perfect soldier.

Closing my eyes, I imagined what it must be like to be a parent here. To be forced to give your child up to what you know is a lifetime of abuse or trauma. Or to be a child, separated from your family and alone, in constant pain and fear until they break you.

These people weren't Jewels. Jewels reaped the benefits of privilege and wealth. They never know what it's like to live in pain. These people... well, they might as well be colours.

"Wes, dude," I put my hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

He grimaced. "You've probably had it worse."

"Life isn't a suffering competition, Wes," Mari argued. "Yeah, we've suffered. But that doesn't eliminate or devalue your's."

We were silent for a few seconds as we soaked in her words.

"This nation is so fucked," I muttered.

Before either of them had a chance to respond, Mark started to walk away from the building, a rainbow of expressions flashing across his face. As we walked, Wes spat on the doorstep of the Center. I gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder as he rejoined us.

The walk back was worse than the walk there. Knowing what these people went through... it sent a shiver down my spine.

We arrived back at the train station. It was only midday, so I guessed there was no point staying here. Or maybe they just didn't have hotels. I couldn't imagine who in their right mind would go on vacation  _here._

Mr. Lee Yang led us back on the train. Wes, Mari I found a seat in silence. That was how we spent the entire trip. I didn't even bother to look out the window this time.

I fell asleep at some point, and was awoken by the train stopping. I glanced out the window to get a look at Purple's train station, only to be greeted with a familiar site.  
  
"Mari," I shook her awake immediately. "Mari, look at this."

She woke up quickly, and glanced out the window. Her eyes widened. "No. No, no it can't be."

I felt like screaming. Because staring right back at us was the train station of the Elite Training Center.

The tour was over. And the Colour Districts had been left out completely.

As everyone started filing out, Mari and I could only sit in a stunned silence. I'd put so much hope into our peers seeing the Colour Districts. Of wishing it would change their minds, make them _care._  And that dream had completely slipped out of my fingers.

"Mari? Matthew?" Mr. Lee Yang was staring at us. "We need to leave."

"Why didn't we see the Colour Districts?" Mari demanded, her words laced with anger.

"You know the answer," he replied sadly. "I was disappointed too, when I was in your shoes."

Of course. Of course we'd be left out of the Elites special tour. Why show them something they don't need to care about, right?

A tear slipped down my cheek. Mari was fuming, and pushed Mr. Lee Yang out of the way as she stormed out the door. I could only sit there, staring at the wall, as my world crashed down.

"Matthew," Mr. Lee Yang said in the softest tone I'd ever heard him use. "We need to go."

He offered me his hand, and I took it. He led me off the train, which sped off the second we stepped outside.

Mr. Lee Yang released my hand. "Get some sleep, Matthew."

I nodded, not finding the words to speak. It was completely deserted as I walked through the oh-so-familiar walls to my room. Wes was already getting ready for bed.

All I could do was lie down and stare at the ceiling. I was numb. Wes gave me an odd look, but I didn't even look back. Eventually, the lights went out, and I was listening to his snores.

Then I heard a beep. I sat up, only to see my hologram box. I rushed over to it and turned it on.

Displayed across the screen was a simple message:

_We need to talk. Roof. Now._

_-Mari_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if you were looking forward to the Colour Districts. I just couldn't put them in.  
> If you want, I could make a little bonus chapter describing life there.


	27. Her

I checked to make sure that Wes was asleep by pushing him lightly. He didn't react and just kept on snoring, which was good enough for me. I reached under my bed, grabbed the makeshift rope I'd made what felt like forever ago, and attached the painting hangar. Once I decided it was secure enough, I removed the window pain, almost dropped it as I laid it on the ground, fed the rope through the hole, and swung it upwards.

A hand shot out and grabbed it in the air, pulling it down onto the roof. I tugged on the rope, making sure it was safe, tied my end to my bedpost, and started to climb. After not doing much exercise for five days, it was a bit more difficult than it normally was, but I managed.

Mari was waiting for me at the top, sitting with her legs spread out in front of her. She had a hologram box in her hands, and was turning it around her fingers. Behind her was a night sky full of glittering, gleaming stars and a full, bright moon. Despite the beauty of the night, she was still the most beautiful thing there in my eyes.

God, I'm cheesy. If I ever said that out loud to her, she'd probably slap me just because of the sheer stupidity of the statement. And I would deserve it.

"Hey," I greeted as I sat next to her.

"Hey," she responded, smiling at me.

We stared at the garden in the middle of the building for a while. It was prettier up here. They really had every flower there, of every different colour. I spotted a grove of trees that I'd never seen before, hidden behind some bushes. We'd have to check that out sometime.

Some Blues were cleaning the tables, preparing them for breakfast tomorrow. After all the fashion of the Jewel Districts, their drab, baggy blue outfits looked dull. They looked like specks from up here. If they looked up, they probably wouldn't be able to see us.

"I... I'm so angry," she said, breaking the silence. Her voice trembled in what I could tell wasn't fear. "So, so angry."

"Me too," I replied truthfully.

"I want- I want to punch someone," she remarked, curling her hand up into a fist and holding it between the two of us. "I just don't know  _who._ "

"The Queen?" I suggested.

"I don't know," Mari shook her head. "Actually, it would probably be pretty satisfying to punch the Queen."

"You've already punched her daughter, after all," I joked. "Why not move up a level?"  
  
Mari smiled and hit my shoulder with her's, which I knew at this point was a sign of affection. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, and she leaned into me.

"I'm just... tired," she sighed. "I'm tired of this."  
  
"Of being ignored?" I guessed. "Of being treated like you're less? Yeah, me too."

"They told us we were Elites now," Mari grumbled. "That we were  _equal._  That we were worth more, just as much as a Diamond. But I don't  _feel_  like a Diamond. I still feel like a Brown."

"I'm glad I don't feel like a Diamond," I replied. "I wouldn't  _want_  to be one."

"Me neither," Mari sighed.

"Yet they act like we aren't Colours anymore," I continued her point. "Like they can just change our history, erase our pain, just by turning the colour of our bracelets from yellow and brown to black."

I held out my bracelet. Its inky blackness shone in the moonlight. It had been black for so long now that it didn't look unusual to me anymore, like it had when I first got the colour change. The two of us stared at it for a few seconds. 

I pulled on it, trying to break it in half, but it was no use. Whatever material they used for this thing, it was indestructiable. I'd heard from someone, once, on the factory line, that their was a special pair of scissors that were capable of cutting them. If that were true, I wanted to find them, cut mine off, and throw it off a cliff. Or into a fire. Either way would work.

"It probably wouldn't have helped," Mari said sadly, cupping her own bracelet and twirling it around her wrist. "Them seeing it. You know what Jewels think of us. If Olivia and Shayne had seen our homes, they wouldn't have suddenly started seeing us as human. They'd think our pain was justified, because to them, we aren't as human as they are. Shayne's father is a factory owner, for crying out loud. He _knows_  what your people are put through! He must!"

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. She was right, and we both knew it. Didn't make it any easier to accept.

"You're right, and it's terrifying that you're right," I sighed. "Because in the future, when we're sitting in the Elite Court, we won't be able to do anything. Everyone from the Jewel Districts won't give a shit about whatever changes we bring to the table. They'll overlook them, criticize them, think it's unimportant or a waste of the nation's resources. We'll never be able to get anything passed, even if it's as simple as making rations bigger."

"Which we all know we have enough food to do," Mari's shoulders drooped. "Gosh, you're right. You're so right. Becoming Governors was just false hope. We won't be able to get shit done. Not through the courts. And then we're going to spend our entire lives without accomplishing anything, voting on useless bills as we slowly waste away, forced  into a world that was never meant for us."

Her words hung in the air. I could imagine it. A life of luxury, with Purples serving my every want and demand. Getting fed grapes like a King while thinking about the people back home, and how I could do nothing about them, nothing to help them, as I tried to decide whether or not I should vote yes or no on a bill about how big Lords could make their mansions. It would be horrible. And that was exactly what we had signed ourselves up for. I could tell that Mari was thinking the exact same thing.

"No," I demanded. "We're not going to live like that."

"Then what are we going to do?" Mari asked. "I've thought about it for days. There's no way we'll be able to change that."

"Bribes?" I suggested.

She chuckled sadly. "With what? Money? Food? Clothes? All of that will come in steady supply. And the Queen would just overturn the bill anyway."

"You really put a bad light on everything, don't you?" I asked.

"Where I grew up, no one thinks positively," she replied. "Except for the ones who have been hit on the head with falling rocks and never think right again. Habits stick."

We sat in silence for a few more minutes, staring at the hologram box she'd laid on the ground. The circle on top shone, sowing us the wires underneath.

"We could fight," I said as the idea hit me.

"What?" Mari asked.

"We could fight," I repeated. "Us. Colours. We could fight back."

"With what?" she looked at me like I was crazy. "Rocks? They'd shoot us all down within seconds."

"Not if we were in the millions," I replied. "They can't shoot their entire workforce."

"There's no way you'd be able to convince the Colours to rebel against the Queen," Mari scoffed. "They're too terrified. Quartzes would be sent upon them like cats on mice."

"What if we didn't start out with riots, though?" I suggested. "What if we just  _refused to work_?"

Mari's eyes widened. "What?"

"Refused to work," I said excitedly. "We could tell them not to. Go from District to District, planting the seed in their minds. The Queen wouldn't care about what we told them. There probably wouldn't even be any cameras at our rallies. We could give them a date, a date where they should stop working, and then leave them. Without the Colours, the entire nation would die within weeks."

"People would be too scared," Mari rebutted. "They'd be too scared of starving without their paychecks."

"We could ship them food," I replied. "Steal it from the Jewels and send it to them in masses."

"They'd be met with violence," Mari replied. "Quartzes would be sent to kill-"

She stopped mid-sentence. "No. No, they wouldn't. Because if the workers are killed..."

"... who will replace them?" I finished. "Escana needs its Colours. It's time they realized it."

Mari laughed. "You're a genius, Matt! You're a  _fucking_  genius!"

Then, before I had time to respond, to react, she wrapped her arms around my neck and  _kissed_  me.

I was shocked at first, but got over it quickly. I liked Mari. I'd know that for a while. I'd just never thought about it; I was worried that if I did, it would start showing in my actions, and then things would be awkward between us.

It had never, not even once, crossed my mind that she might like me back.

Because she was Mari, and I was Matthew. She was strong, smart, beautiful, brave, and perfect, while I was just... me. The loser who never got the girl.

Yet here she was, hands wrapped around my neck, lips against mine. Her lips were soft, and she tasted like... I didn't know how to describe it. Something good. I found myself kissing her back.

Suddenly, she pulled away, her cheeks red. "Sorry. I should've asked if you wanted-"

I cut her off by throwing my arms around her waist and pulling her closer to me and kissing her. She instantly started kissing me back, running her fingers through my hair.

It was more intense this time. More intimate. Surprisingly, I didn't feel any insecurity. No worry that I was a horrible kisser, nothing. That was just the effect Mari had on me. In her arms, I felt calm. I felt at home.

I don't know how long we kissed for, but Mari eventually pulled back, gasping for breath. We pressed our foreheads together as we both caught our breath. Then we started laughing.

"Wow," she breathed. I nodded in agreement. "So..."

"Yeah?" I asked.

"What are we now, exactly?" she asked, cupping my cheek with my hand.

"Let's figure that out later," I replied, placing my hand over her's. She laughed and kissed me again.

What felt like both seconds and hours later simultaneously, we pulled apart again.

"We should  _really_  get some sleep," I suggested.

"Yeah," she nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good. I'm exhausted."

"Same time tomorrow?" I asked with a smile.

She grinned. "Sounds like a plan."

We said our goodbyes before she started walking back to our rooms. I unclasped my rope and swung down, climbing back into my room. Once I was in, I pulled off the clasp, put the painting back up, and hid the rope back under my bed, and collapsed onto my mattress.

I felt lightheaded. Did that really just happen? It felt like a dream, or a figment of my imagination. There was no way that Mari had just kissed me.

But she did. Oh Lord, she did. I was probably the happiest man on Earth right now. The huge grin on my face probably looked incredibly stupid, but I couldn't help it.

Mari had  _kissed_  me!

Not only that, but we'd made a plan. We knew what we were going to do now. For our homes, for ourselves. We were going to change the world, and we were going to do it  _together._

Escana better ready itself. Because it has no idea what it's about to go through. There's only so much one can take before they fight back. And us Colours had taken a  _lot._

The world was about to change. And there was nothing, _nothing_  the Jewels could do to stop it. 

The future. Is. Ours. 


	28. Graduation

**_•A Month Later•_ **

"How do I look?" Joven asked as he examined himself in the mirror, smoothing out his suit.

"You look fine, Joven," David reassured him as he stood behind him, trying to tie his tie and failing horribly. A few seconds later, Ian stood up and helped him with, not being able to stand watching his boyfriend fail anymore.

The four of us, Wes, Anthony, and Keith were in Ian and David's room, getting ready for the ceremony. Mari was in the bathroom, getting changed, along with Ericka, who Joven had at some point pulled into our group. Apparently, she'd ditched Shayne and his posse after realizing how big of a jerk he and everyone else were, and grown really close to Joven while Mari and I were away. The rest of us were straightening our ties and smoothing out our suits, trying to make ourselves look as good as possible.

Lord Raub had given us a rundown of what was going to happen yesterday; there'd be a little ceremony in the garden, where we'd get signed papers confirming our profession, and then we'd officially have graduated. Afterwards, there would be a little party to celebrate.

Then, finally, we'd go off to our jobs in whatever Jewel District they were located in. I was excited to get to work, but I didn't like the idea that I wouldn't see Joven, David, and Wes as much. Lord Raub had assured us that we'd be able to visit each other, however, so I wasn't too worried.

David and Ian were a bit skitterish though, seeing as they'd be going to completely different Districts, but I wasn't worried about them. They really loved each other; you could tell from the way they looked at each other. I did not doubt that they'd be able to make long-distance work.

As for Mari and I... well, that wasn't an issue.

We were officially together now. Had been for the past three weeks. When we'd told everyone, they hadn't been that surprised. David said that he'd been expecting us to get together since day five. I still didn't know if I should have taken that as a compliment.

"Mari! Hurry up!" Joven shouted.

"Hold your horses!" she screamed back. A few seconds later, she stepped out of the bathroom.

She was wearing the same suit as the rest of us, but somehow managed to pull it off ten times better than any of us could, even though it was tailored for men. Her hair was combed to the side and held in place with a series of complicated small braids that I assumed Ericka had done. Ericka herself was wearing a simple red dress and had her hair down.

"I thought they were making the girls wear dresses?" I raised my eyebrow as she walked over to me.

"Since when have I been one for rules?" she asked, smiling.

"She bribed a Blue to find her one," Ericka explained as she looked at herself in the mirror. Mari lightly punched her arm.

"So, are we finally ready to go?" Keith asked. He had somehow found himself a hat, setting him apart from the rest of us slightly.

"Oh, shut up," Mari complained, lacing her fingers through mine as she gently tugged me towards the door. Everyone followed us out.

It was a short walk through the hallways and down to the garden. The ceremony was taking place where we usually ate meals. The picnic tables had been replaced by a wooden podium, and two rows of seven plastic chairs. Noah was the only one there, and had a book open on his lap. He looked up when we came into the clearing, and I gave him a thumbs up.

I felt bad for him, honestly. He hated spending time with Olivia, Shayne, Courtney, and Damien, but he had no choice; they'd rip him alive if they saw him with me outside of class. So I had to settle with giving him waves and thumbs ups for communication. It sucked, but it was all we had.

The chairs had names on them, and seemed to be sorted alphabetically by last name. I found myself in the back row, Anthony beside to my left and an empty chair labelled "Olivia Sui." Mari sat on the other side of Olivia, and Ian sat in front of me.

We didn't have to wait long before Shayne's posse started to file in. They seemed to have not gotten changed together, as they came one-by-one. Shayne, then Damien, then Courtney, then Olivia, who did not look happy with the seating arrangement. A few minutes after we were all seated, Lord Raub walked onto the podium, dressed in a suit and microphone in hand.

"Elites!" he announced happily. "I am so proud of all of you. Over the past five months, you have all worked hard and learned so much. You lot are by far one of my favourite groups of Elites yet, and I am so excited to see what you will do in the future for our great nation. That is why I am so excited to give you all your certificates and send you on your way."

A Blue scurried on stage beside him, holding a stack of paper. Lord Raub cleared his throat. "Now, without further ado, let's get this graduation started. Ericka Bozeman, please come on stage."  
  
Ericka stood up and walked up the wooden steps on the side of the platform. Once she made her way to Lord Raub, he shook her hand and gave her her certificate. As she stepped down, we all clapped, as we'd been instructed to do yesterday. She made her way to the front of the podium and stood still.

"Noah Grossman," Lord Raub announced. Noah stepped up got his certificate and took his spot next to Ericka.

Next was Damien, then Ian. David clapped especially hard for him.

Then it was Wes. Next was Keith, then Courtney, who I noticed Shayne clap hard for.

David was next, who both Mari, Ian, and I clapped hard for. We did the same for Joven. Anthony was a bit of a loner, who usually spent his time talking to Blues, so all he got was a polite clap.

"Matthew Sohinki," Mari squeezed my hand in reassurance as I passed her on my way to the podium.

Lord Raub had a strong handshake. I hoped that mine matched his. He grabbed the certificate on the top of the pile, handed it to me, and patted me on the back. I gave him a weak smile before stepping off the podium and standing next to Anthony.

I read my certificate as Olivia walked up. It had a blue border. In the middle of the paper were the words:  **This Certificate Is To Show That Matthew Sohinki Completed The Government Course And Is Eligible To Work As This Profession. **On the bottom was the Queen's autograph.

Wow. How nice of them to write my name on a blank line and get the Queen to do a rushed autograph on it. I feel so honoured.

Olivia stood next to me, and then it was Mari's turn. I clapped wildly as she got her certificate and took her place in the line. I shot her a thumbs up, and she returned the gesture.

After Shayne finally got his, Lord Raub brought the microphone back to his mouth. "Congratulations, Elites, for completing your courses. You have two hours before the graduation party begins."

As soon as he walked off the podium, everyone broke out of the line and drifted into their groups of friends.

"So," David asked awkwardly. "What are we going to do to pass the time?"

"Video games?" I suggested.

"Hell yeah," Ericka responded, settling the matter.

We spent the next hour playing video games. It was kind of awkward with all eight of us, but we managed. We had both Ian and David's hologram boxes on, and had a round-robin setup going for a 1v1 fighting game. By the time our watches buzzed to tell us the party had begun, it had felt like only minutes had passed.

The party was taking place in the Government classroom, which the Blues had decorated. Streamers hung from the walls, the podium had been replaced with stereos, the floor had been turned into a dance floor, and the back row of chairs had become a snack table. Strobe lights hung from the ceiling, turning the dance floor different colours.

"I like what they did to the place," Mari joked.

I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. "Yeah. It's nice to see this place have some colour to it."  
  
"And have food," Joven remarked from behind us, "because I'm  _starved_."

Mari nodded in agreement. We followed him over to the snack bar. David looked like he was going to join us, but Ian grabbed his hand and led him down to the dance floor. But hey, David didn't seem to mind, and it was nice seeing them together in public. Usually, David was hesitant too.

Everyone had arrived by now. As Joven, Mari, and I loaded up at the snack bar, we watched the dancers. Ian and David were doing simple moves, Olivia and Noah were dancing awkwardly side-by-side, and Shayne and Courtney were practically throwing themselves at each other. I didn't know they were together, but they had to be, because no two friends would dance like  _that_. Anthony was sitting off to the side reading a book.

"So," Mari said, "this is it. We'll never see a lot of these people again."

"Can't say I'll miss a lot of them," I replied.

She smiled. "Me neither."

The three of us talked about small things as we ate our food. Once we were finished, Mari grabbed my hand and started tugging me towards the dance floor.

We'd done some dancing together in my room whenever Wes was working out, but we hadn't done anything in public. I wasn't nervous, though. I knew everyone in the room, and the only ones I cared about wouldn't care if I was the best dancer in the world or the worst.

An electronic song was playing as we hit the floor. Mari wasted no time before we started dancing, twirling each other around and just  _moving._  We pretty much did whatever we wanted.

All in all, it was an amazing night.

• • •

"I can't believe I won't be seeing you two for _three months_ ," David muttered.

"Yeah, me neither," I replied. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too," David said sadly.

"You better text us," Joven warned. "At least once a week."

"He will," Mari smiled. "I'll make sure of it."

Then we were hugging. Gosh, I was going to miss these two idiots  _so_  much.

"Please tell me you guys have a plan," David whispered as I hugged him. 

"We do," I reassured him.

"It better be a good one," he replied. "Because you have a  _lot_  of work to do."

"When have I ever failed you?" I asked.

"Too many times to count," he joked. We pulled apart. "Good luck, Matt. You'll need it."

Then he hugged Mari, probably giving her the same speech. The four of us said our final goodbyes, and Mari and I made our way down onto the train and to a seat in the back.

As soon as every Governing student was inside, the train lurched to life. David, who now had Ian's arm wrapped around his shoulder, and Joven waved at us from the platform. Mari and I waved back until they were out of sight, and all you could see out the window was the rolling green plains of the prairie.

"I'm going to miss them," she sighed.

"Me too," I replied, taking her hand across the table. As we looked out of the window, there was only one thought in my mind.

_Diamond District, here we come._


	29. Lords

We spent most of the train ride in silence, staring out the window. By the time we arrived, the sun had started to set.

Mr. Lee Yang had come with us, and we followed him out of the train. We found ourselves in the same room we'd arrived in during the tour, which felt like forever ago. Mr. Lee Yang turned to face us.

"Okay Elites, here's the plan," he explained. "Today's going to be pretty simple. You're going to meet everyone in the Elites Court, aka your future colleagues, and then you'll be shown the building all of you will be living in, which is where you'll be staying for the rest of your life. So, let's get started."

He turned and walked down the hallway. We followed him out of the train station. This time, instead of a bus, there was a long, sleek, black limousine waiting for us. A Purple opened the side door for us, and one-by-one we got in. Wes, Mari, and I found ourselves on the right side of the long chair. Mr. Lee Yang got into the passenger's seat in the front. As the Purple got into the driver's, he shut the window between us.

"Well, isn't this fancy," Mari whispered, leaning against me.

"I think everything's going to be fancy where we're going," I whispered back, throwing my arm around her shoulder, which got us some looks from Olivia and Shayne. All I did in response was grin at them.

Mari scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I hate that you're right."

No one talked for the entire drive after that. With all six of us there, it felt more than awkward. I started tugging on my sleeve to pass the time.

Eventually, the limo rolled to a stop. I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

Unsurprisingly, I found myself standing outside of the castle. Mr. Lee Yang was already walking up the walkway, and everyone rushed to keep up with him.

The castle didn't look as impressive as it did the first time I saw it, but it was still shockingly beautiful. As we made our way through its halls, I doubted that I would ever get used to this place. It was just too awe-inspiring.

Soon, we found ourselves outside of familiar doors. Mr. Lee Yang pushed them open, revealing the Elite Courtroom. But this time, all the chairs were full.

At least seventy people turned their heads as we walked in. They all wore the same thing--a simple black suit--but besides that, they couldn't look more different. No two people looked alike. They differed in gender, race, age, height, and appearance.

"Ah, the new Elites!" Quinta was standing at the podium in the middle of the tables. She opened her arms like she was about to give us a hug. "We've been expecting you!"

All of them stood up, and next thing I knew, I was in a whirlpool of people, all clambering to shake my hand and introduce themselves, smiling the whole time.

"Hi, I'm Shane Dawson."

"Safiya Nygaard, nice to meet you."

"I'm Anna Akan. What's your name?"

"Hey, I'm Jack Douglass. Congrats on making it here."

"Welcome to the Elites Court. I'm James. Who are you?"

"I'm Keith Habersberger. And you are?"

I could barely say my name fast enough before someone else grabbed my hand. I had no idea how I was going to remember all of these people's names. There were just so  _many_  of them. It was kind of overwhelming.

After a man introduced himself as Drew Gooden and shook my hand, it finally stopped. They all went back to their seats. As I looked at their faces, I could only name eleven of them, and they were the last eleven to greet me. God, this would take awhile.

"We look forward to working with all of you!" Quinta smiled. "Hopefully you're smarter than you look."

I didn't know if she meant that as a joke or an insult. She'd didn't sound like she was serious, but then again, she was friends with Mr. Lee Yang, and there was only so much time you could spend with that man before his negativity started to wear off on you. I couldn't count the number of times when David told me to stop being such a bastard after class.

Oh, David. Who was going to tell me if I was being a bastard now?

Speaking of Mr. Lee Yang, he was walking out of the room. Luckily, I noticed him in time and alerted the others, so we managed to get out before he left us all behind.

He led us through more rooms than I could count. Seriously, who need these many rooms? We walked through at least three dining rooms, two of which that looked like they hadn't been used in months. Half of the rooms in this place were probably only used by the Purples who had to sweep the dust out of them.

Eventually, we left the castle, and found ourselves in a courtyard outside. It was a small garden, with bushes you could see over covering it's four corners, which were separated by concrete paths that met in the middle to support a fountain that had some  _very_  interesting statues on it that you couldn't show a child.

Surrounding the courtyard was a building shaped like a square U. The left and right sides were divided into two halves, separated by a balcony, that made may for two levels of rooms. The middle section of the building had one glass door.

"Welcome," Mr. Lee Yang announced with absolutely no enthusiasm, "to your living quarters. Your room number will be on your watch. The middle building has the cafeteria, which you'll go to for meals, and above it is an old-fashioned library and the nation's biggest database. You have till dinner to get used to your new rooms. Tomorrow, the Queen will anoint you."

Then he sighed. "And this, Elites, is where we say goodbye. I doubt you'll miss me very much, and I know I won't miss you. Hopefully, you've learned enough from my class to not run this nation into the ground. Goodbye."

With those words, he walked off. I wouldn't have expected any more from him.

"Well, then," Mari smiled as we watched him disappear back into the castle. "Let's find our rooms, shall we?"

"Yeah, why not," I replied, turning my watch on. Under the time, a number glowed on its screen; 79.

"I'm in 77," she announced. "You?"

"79," I replied. 

"So we aren't too far away from each other," she smiled. "That's good."

I grabbed her hand, and we walked over to the right wing. The door closest to us was labelled with 90, and the numbers went down. We found ours quickly.

"Meet here at dinner?" she asked.

"Sure," I replied, and we walked into our rooms.

It was a beautiful room. The walls were painted white, and there was a window was black silk curtains. A silver chandelier hung from the ceiling. The bed was big and had a white canopy. A black desk sat in the corner. Across from the bed was a short dresser, which had a hologram box sitting on it. When I opened one of the dresser's drawers, I was met with the sight of multiple suits.

I sighed and plopped down on the bed, which was unimaginably soft. Here it was. The room I would be living in until I died. 

The thought seemed strange. Despite spending the last five months of my life living in luxury, I still wasn't used to it. If you asked me to describe home, an image of the apartment I'd shared with my family was the first thing that came to my mind. It would probably always be.

That's when I noticed it. A small envelope, hidden under the dresser. I got on my knees and pulled it out. It was a simple design and had my name written on it in a handwriting I recognized.

_Jon._

I quickly tore it open and started to read.

_Dear Matthew,_

_Hey, little bro. It's Jon. Mom and Dad don't know I'm writing this. They'd bite my head off if they did, seeing how dangerous it was to organize this. This probably won't reach you, but if the Blue I paid somehow pulls through for me, well, here it is._

_So, we're all alive. At least, we were as of April 4th, 2863. I've gotten married. Her name's Sara. I think you'd like her. We just found out that she's pregnant, and I'm super excited. Hopefully, you'll be able to meet your niece/nephew someday._

_Dad's migraines have gotten better, though I suspect he's just saying that. No matter if it's true or not, it's sure making Mom happier. Sara and I live in the same building as them, so we visit each other daily._

_No one's gotten injured. This girl, Pamela I think her name was, found out about this and told me to say hi for her, so there you go._

_I hope you're doing well. I don't know what they're putting you through wherever you are, but they better not be hurting you, or I'll come up there and kick their asses._

_We all miss you so, so much. I'm sure you miss us, too. It's become my life goal to see you again some time, Matt, and I'll be damned if I don't accomplish it. Mark my words._

_The best brother in the world, Jon._

My eyes started to water as I held the note close to my chest. They were okay. My family was alive! Relief washed over me like a wave.

I swore to myself, in that moment, that I would see them again. I was going to be a Lord, for crying out loud. It was possible.

 _I'll see you again, Jon,_  I thought to myself.  _I promise._

• • •

The next day, I found myself kneeling in front of the Queen.

All six of us were, dressed in suits. The other members of the Elite Court lined the red carpet leading up to the Queen's throne, hands over their hearts. Above them, Purples hung from ropes attached to the ceiling, clutching cameras, broadcasting the event all over every Jewel District across the nation.

The Queen stood above us, holding her sceptre. She was wearing so much makeup that she looked twenty years younger than she had the last time I saw her. Her dress was made of black and white silk, and she had a red sash hanging over her right shoulder. Her crown shone in the heavy light shining on us for the cameras.

"Elites," she said softly, "it is my honour to accept you into my court. You are our nation's best, brightest people. I know that you will serve your people well."

She moved to one end of the line, where Olivia was kneeling. She touched both of her shoulders and extended her hand, which Olivia took, to help her to her feet.

"Welcome, Princess Olivia," she smiled, "to my court."

Then it was Noah. "Welcome, Lord Grossman, to my court."

Next was Shayne. Then Wes. Then Mari. Finally, it was me. The sceptre felt heavy as she lightly tapped my shoulders, and her hand was cold as she pulled me to my feet.

"Welcome, Governor Sohinki, to my court," her smile was warm, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

Then she turned to the Purple cameraman standing behind her throne and spread her arms wide. "Citizens of Escana, I present to you your newest Governors!"

A loud applause filled the air as all the other Elites clapped and hollered for us. As the cameras panned around us, Mari and I shared a knowing look before looking straight into the same camera as the Queen. She laced her fingers through mine, and I squeezed her hand in reassurance.

_Get ready, Escana. You have no idea what's about to hit you._


	30. Epilouge

**Antartica District #4**   
**May 16th, 3006**

"Thank you, Luke, for that... wonderful presentation," Mrs. Oak smiled as the fifteen-year-old sat down to the applause of his peer's applause, hi-fiving his best friend, Kyle, who never went anywhere without his basketball. Of course, one kid had to pick the worst King Escana's ever had. Typical. "Do we have any volunteers?"

In the back of the classroom, a girl's friend grabbed her wrist and held her hand in the air. The girl pulled her arm out of the other girl's grasp, but kept it in the air anyway, hoping to get some bonus marks for volunteering.

"Thank you, Diana," Mrs. Oak said from her spot from the back of the classroom, pulling up a new grading rubric, thankful that she wasn't going to have to pick someone randomly. She hated doing that. "Come on up."

Diana walked up to the front of the classroom and logged onto her school account on the classroom computer. Thirty years ago, they would've used a hologram box, but that was before the government found out that Hologram Tech was mistreating their factory employees, even after workplace safety regulations had been put in place. The company had never regained their reputation, and went out of business soon after.

The brown-haired, brown-eyed, tall fifteen-year-old girl quickly had her powerpoint set up, and stood to the side as the classroom projector shined her cover page onto the pull-down screen. It was a simple design; the title "My Hero" written in a simple font, and a picture of a man in a suit. Diana was nothing if not efficient.

The students in the class stopped talking as Diana cleared her throat. Everyone knew that when Diana was talking, you didn't. She just had that effect on people. Mrs. Oak was sure that she would go into politics someday. If she didn't, it would be a waste of her talents.

"Hi, I'm Diana Moss, as I'm sure most of you know, and this is my project," Diana said loudly. Mrs. Oak noticed that she was making good eye-contact with the class, so she was already doing better than Luke had. "I decided to do my project on Governor Matthew Sohinki."

She pressed the spacebar of the keyboard, switching to the next slide, titled 'Early Life'. Sunlight shone off the whiteboard behind it. "Matthew Sohinki was born in 2845 in Yellow District #4 to Mary and Danny Sohinki. He had an older brother named Jon. His parents had a son before him, named Daniel, but he died in infancy. Due to the two-children rule, if Daniel had lived, Matthew never would have been born.

"He did very well in school growing up, but never had many friends. When he was fourteen, he was employed at Hologram Tech., where the conditions were terrible, which was not only not unusual at the time but the norm. His father suffered from intense migraines, and he regularly went to bed hungry."

She switched the slide to 'The Test.' "Matthew grew up while the Tests were still in session. In January of 2863, he took his Test. He scored a 100% on both the physical and mental portions of the Tests, which was unheard of at the time for Yellows, due to the poor nutrition and schooling they received, putting them at a significant disadvantage compared to Jewels. Nevertheless, Matthew managed to pull it off."

New slide labelled 'Being an Elite.' "Matthew was then torn away from his family and sent to be trained as an Elite. He did very well at the Elite Training Center, and majored in Governing. There, he met Mariko Takahashi, a former Brown, who would become his colleague and, eventually, his wife. On June 3rd, Matthew was anointed by the Queen to the Elite Court, and gained his title of 'Governor.' This was when Matthew's story went from being impressive to extraordinary."

The next slide was titled "The Begining of a Revolution'. "At first, he and Mari tried to get the other members of the Elite Court to help out Colours. They introduced several bills that suggested increasing rations and improving living conditions. All of them were shot down. As Matthew wrote in his autobiography after he was retired, he had been expecting that.

"Along with Mari, Matthew slowly convinced all of the Purples in the castle to help him. The plan was simple; keep 5% of the food imported from the Green Districts to the Diamond one, the ones that couldn't rot, and put it back on the train, where the Blues he had on his side would bring them to a warehouse. Two years later, he had enough to feed every Colour in the nation for two months."

Next slide. 'The Speeches". "After that, Matthew and Mari started stage two of their plan. The two of them started doing what no Elite or Lord had ever done before; go to Colour Districts and give speeches. The speeches they gave were bland and generic; nothing to talk about. What was newsworthy, however, was what they would tell the people in secret afterwards to keep under the Queen's radar; on April 1st, stop working. We will give you food."

She switched the slide. 'The Strike'. "It worked. On April 1st, 2865, almost every Colour in every District stopped working. The few that didn't weren't enough to change anything. Almost overnight, the Jewel's worlds changed. Grocery stores and restaurants stopped getting food. There were massive power outages across the world. Water stopped flowing through the pipes. That was when the Queen started sending Quartzes to the Colour Districts, intending to kill enough Colours to scare the rest back to work.

"What she wasn't expecting, however, were the Colours to fight back. Their lives were on the line, and they weren't about to back down. Then, in a stroke of bravery, Matthew and Mari went to every Quartz District and told them, publicly, to refuse to fight, as they too were treated horribly. Next thing she knew, the Queen no longer had any way to scare the Colours."

New slide. 'Change.' "Everyone knew by now that Matthew and Mari were behind the strike. Colours were shouting their names as they walked down the roads of their Districts. They were calling the strikes the 'Sohinki-Takahashi movement' among themselves. But by that point, there was nothing the Queen could do to punish them, because she knew that they were the only ones who could get the Colours to work again.

"That was when Mari and Matthew started imposing new bills. Bigger rations. Shorter hours. Better working conditions. Better infrastructure. More pollution control in the Yellow Districts. Getting Browns out of mines. Making sure everyone had a house. And every time one of their bills were fought against, they reminded their adversaries that they could get the Colours to strike again with the snap of their fingers. They were untouchable."

She changed the slide. 'The death of a Monarch.' "When the Queen died in 2875, Matthew and Mari waited no time before bringing in their next piece of legislature. They proposed that the royal family should be eradicated and replaced with a government of people who had gotten 100% on the mental portion of their Tests. When the heir, Princess Olivia, protested, arguing that she had gotten 100% on the mental portion of her Tests, Matthew and Mari made her take it on camera. When she only got an 80%, they held it as proof that she was a liar and couldn't be trusted. Seeing as she had no siblings, the legislature went through, and Princess Olivia became the last royal member of the Sui line."

The next slide was labelled 'The New Court.' "Once the Queen was gone, Mari and Matthew turned their attention to the Lords, who were all forced to take the Tests publically as well. Only one got 100% on their mental; Noah Grossman. He was the only one allowed to join their court, which was renamed from the Elite Court to the Court of Escana. With no one to veto their bills, and with all the allies they had on their court, Mari and Matthew didn't even need to threaten with strikes anymore. They didn't need too."

She changed the slide. 'A New Nation.' "On January 1st, 2880, Mari and Matthew got married. At the ceremony, they swore to eradicate the Tests. Two weeks later, they did just that. There was no one to stop them anymore.

"Two years later, they had a daughter. They named her Kara, and on the day they showed her to the media, Mari swore to Kara that she would see a world with no ranks, where people would not be categorized by colour.

"The Jewels rioted at that, but they were not nearly as successful as the Colours, as their services were not essential to the running of the nation, and a large number of them  _wanted_  the rank system to be destroyed. Three years later, after figuring out the linguistics of it, Mari and Matthew destroyed the colour district. When they made the announcement, they held their arms on top of one another, thread the blades of a pair of scissors through their bracelets, and cut them off.

"Then they went across the country, cutting off everyone's. Those who refused to get their's cut weren't punished by law, but were socially ostracized until they eventually relented. Train systems and airports were opened to everyone, and soon, people were travelling all over the world, pursuing careers that interested them."

Diana changed the slide. The new one read 'The End of a Career'. "Mari and Matthew spent the rest of their careers fighting for equality and justice. They had two children, Kara and a son named Pierre. They retired at the age of eighty. Mari died three years later, and Matthew died two months after her. Doctors say that the reason they died twenty years after the national average, despite being surrounded by medical care, was because of the horrible working conditions of their youth. It was a trend observed among everyone in their generation."

She turned to her class. "The reason Matthew Sohinki is my hero is because he saved my life. All of us live in what used to be a Yellow District. If it wasn't for him, we'd all be working in a factory right now, breathing in soot and smoke. Half of us would probably be dead. None of us would have any hope for the future. We'd be forced to marry young and have kids young. We wouldn't be able to marry anyone of the same sex. We wouldn't even _know_  about any of the religions some of us practice. We wouldn't be able to wear what we want to wear. We wouldn't have any rights. Matthew, and Mari, saved us from that. And we owe them our _lives_  for that."

With those words, she slid the projector closed. "Any questions?"

Samantha's hand shot in the air. "Yes, Sam?"

"Is it true that he was almost assassinated?" the blonde girl asked.

"Yes," Diana replied. "He was, when it became clear to the public who was to blame for the strikes. A Ruby sniper tried to shoot him from a window as he exited from a car, but Mari saw the assassin in the nick of time and pushed him out of the way, taking the bullet herself in her shoulder, an injury which she recovered from quickly. The incident just made the movement stronger. Any more questions?"

No one raised their hand. "Thank you for listening, then."

Diana sat down to the sound of a roaring applause. Mrs. Oak smiled as she saved Diana's grading rubric, which displayed a perfect score. She would never admit it, as teachers weren't supposed to play favourites, but Diana was by  _far_  her favourite student.

"Alright then, class," Mrs. Oak said as she pulled up a new grading rubric, surveying her class of twenty as Diana put her flashcards away. "Who's next?"

** •The End• **


	31. Life as a Colour (BONUS CHAPTER)

An explanation of life in the coloured districts before the Sohinki-Takahashi movement.   
  
  


**1\. Purple**

Population: 20,000

Number of Districts: 1

Average Household Income: $2,500/month

Living Quarters: servants quarters in palace or lord's manor.

Jobs: cook, maid, butler, nanny, gardener, or servant, specifically for royals or lords

Notable Members: N/A

Notes: Purples were by far the best off out of all Colours. Almost all members of the rank had three meals per day and access to clean drinking waters, both of which were usually provided by their master(s). All the members of a household had a tight sense of community. While it was not illegal to beat and mistreat your servants, it was seen as socially unacceptable and scandalous to do so, so most servants were treated well. Men were more likely to be employed as gardeners and women as nannies, but all other jobs had almost identical levels of employment between the sexes.  
  
  


**2\. Red**

Population: 500,000

Number of Districts: 3

Average Household Income: $2,000/month

Living Quarters: small houses

Jobs: dancer, singer, or musician

Notable Members: Governor Eugene Lee Yang and Governor Quinta Brunson

Notes: life was a giant competition among Reds. There was huge pressure amongst citizens to be the best amongst their peers, arguably more so than those in the Emerald Districts, as in the Red Districts, being the lowest in your field could mean death. No matter how talented Reds were, however, they could never outshine Emeralds, and were confined to roles as backup dancers, vocalists, and musicians for an Emerald's music video or song.  
  
  


**3\. Blue**

Population: 10 million

Number of Districts: 5

Average Household Income: $1,900/month

Living Quarters: small houses or large apartments

Jobs: waiter, tour guide, cashier, rations distributor, bus driver, pilot, doctor, train driver, technician, or teacher

Notable Members: Ryan Bergara, leader of the riots during the Sohinki-Takahashi movement.

Notes: the life of a blue was a life of servitude. Blues spent their lives in servitude to Jewels, bouncing from place to place to perform their duties for them. Families were commonly ripped apart, and Blues could never form any friendships or bond before being relocated. Most of them had houses in the District they had grown up in, but barely saw them, instead giving them to their children. People would clamour to get married and procreate, as parents were given ten years of work in their home District to raise the child before they were shipped out again.  
  
  


**4\. Green**

Population: 20 million

Number of Districts: 20

Average Household Income: $1,400/month to $1,800/month

Living Quarters: farmhouses, tents, houses, or boats

Jobs: farmer, lumberjack, or fisherman

Notable Members: Dan Howell and Phil Lester, leaders of the riots during the Sohinki-Takashi Movement

Notes: Greens were always surrounded by nature. Wealth and quality of life differed from profession to profession. Every District focused on one of the three jobs, and whichever one was your profession was where you lived. If you scored high enough on the Psychical portion of the Tests, you would be relocated as a lumberjack, but otherwise, you were kept where you were. Where you lived depended on your wealth and career; a richer fisherman lived in a house, a poor one a boat. A richer lumberjack lived in a house, a poor one a tent.  
  
  


**5\. Yellow**

Population: 60 million

Number of Districts: 20

Average Household Income: $1,000/month to $1,500/month

Living Quarters: small apartments

Jobs: factory worker

Notable Members: Governor Matthew Sohinki, Jon Sohinki, leader of the riots during the Sohinki-Takashi movement, and Elite David Moss

Notes: Yellows lived very hard lives. Most citizens went to bed hungry. Work conditions were abhorrent, as the government had no workplace regulations in place at the time. Injuries were incredibly common. Pay was low. Citizens were expected to have two children-no more, no less-by the age of 25, to keep up with the death rate. Rations were needed by almost every citizen.  
  
  


**6\. Brown**

Population: 50 million

Number of Districts: 20

Average Household Income: $1,100/month

Living Quarters: caves

Jobs: miner

Notable Members: Governor Mariko Takahashi, and Ryan Higa, leader of the riots during the Sohinki-Takahashi movement

Notes: Browns had it the worst of all. Hundreds of people slept in caves that could barely contain them. People would kill each other over food. At least five people died in the mines every day. Workers barely saw sunlight. Sickness was rampant, black lung being the most common. Rations were taken by everyone, and people would kill each other over them. No one had a bed, and most didn't have blankets. During the winter, people would freeze to death. Life was so bad that Jewels would send the worst of criminals-murderers, rapists, and traitors-to die there. Amongst Jewels, Browns were thought of as below animals.  
  
  


_All population numbers valid as of 2863. Data collected and presented by Lord Noah Grossman._


End file.
